Villagers in Singur keep track of the talks on television. Picture by Ananda Das

Singur, Sept. 6: Fakir Pakhira could not take his eyes off the television set this afternoon — if the factory opened, he would be back at work on Monday.

A solution to the standoff had looked a distinct possibility to Fakir in the afternoon. But by evening, the 35-year-old, who cleans machinery at the Nano plant, knew he would have to wait.

“There has to be a solution. The Tata Motors factory has to start functioning or we will all be in deep trouble,” he said at a youth club in Joymollah, where many residents had gathered to watch TV reports on the day’s developments at Raj Bhavan.

“I was hoping my supervisor would give me a call to report for work on Monday,” Fakir said.

He has not been to the plant since the Tatas declared a halt in operations from August 29 after some workers were threatened. Today, Fakir was desperate to return to work.

So was Gopal Santra. The 25-year-old labourer, employed by one of the vendor companies, has been earning Rs 3,300 a month at the plant.

After the talks ended this evening without a result, Gopal refused to give up hope. “The factory has to open and I still believe there will be a way out by this weekend,” he said.

The protesters crowding before Mamata Banerjee’s manch in Singur were equally eager for a solution.

Some Trinamul supporters at the dharna site had thought, prematurely, that the party had won back the land it wanted for the unwilling landlosers.

“Madanda, bijoy utsab kokhon hobey (when are we going to start the victory celebrations)?” one of them asked Trinamul leader Madan Mitra. It was a marcher from a procession that had reached the venue from Gopalnagar.

Mitra waved at him and quickly walked to the stage where the Trinamul chief stood.

“Maybe tomorrow or the day after. Only when Didi says so,” another Trinamul leader, Paresh Pal, shouted back at the supporter, smiling.

Around 4.30pm, a group of Trinamul leaders such as Sovandeb Chattopadhyay arrived from Calcutta. They waved to the protesters, raising their hopes further.

A group of people loyal to Somen Mitra’s Pragatishil Indira Congress suddenly rushed towards the main dais.

Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, a Trinamul leader, was seen explaining to some women supporters that the talks were not over yet. “This is not the time to celebrate. We will do it after the next Assembly elections,” she told the women.

As the evening dragged on, the crowd’s mood changed from hope to disappointment. The lights came on at the Tata Motors project site.

As he took a tea break in the evening, a Trinamul leader told a group of supporters: “Nah, aajke kichhu holo na re (nothing got done today).”