The young generation here, which expected Tata Motors' Nano project at Singur in West Bengal to throw up jobs, is concerned over the political turmoil that has crippled work at the factory.
"I thought if Tata Motors sets up a factory in Singur, it will provide job opportunities to many engineers of the state and they won't have to go out, but now it seems impossible," said automobile engineer Krishanu Das.
Das, who works for a multi-national company in Pune and was planning to return to his home state after taking up a job in the Nano factory, said: "I thought I would apply for the Nano project after gathering a couple of years' experience at Pune. People from West Bengal should come to Pune and see how the city has prospered due to industrialisation."
Added Moumita De, a final year engineering student at Jadavpur University: "I thought the industrial image of the country, particularly that of the state, will change drastically with the start of the factory. But with the recent developments, it seems to be a distant dream."
Many others share such views, a week into the Trinamool Congress-led indefinite siege at the gates of the Singur plant, where no work took place Friday and Saturday. The protesters, with Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee as their leader, have demanded that the government return 400 acres of land taken for the project from farmers unwilling to part with their holdings.
"I thought my daughter can stay back in the state and work. But with the changing scenario, I am beginning to lose hope," said Anindita Das, whose daughter is an engineering student in the state.
Referring to the engineering students in the state, she said: "These kids in the long run go out of the state and settle elsewhere. Had there been a project like Tata in the state, they could have tried to fetch a job to stay back," she said.
There is sympathy for the landlosers of Singur among the urban population, but the significance of the small car project is also not lost.
"Nobody wants farmers to suffer. But at the same time, industrialisation should not be affected. If the Tatas are allowed to set up a factory over there, they will surely change the entire area for the better. Singur will find a place on the industrial map of India," said Subhra Das, a businesswoman.
Echoed Tanni Basu, a third year B.Sc student: "If the Nano factory happens in Singur then it will raise the standard of the locality as also the adjoining areas. The Tatas will definitely build a township over there and a lot of of employment generation will happen."