A man removes barricades put up by police in front of the plant to keep protesters at bay. (Pradip Sanyal)

Singur, Sept. 8: Decorators scrambled to dismantle the makeshift structures at the siege site this morning, freeing up Durgapur Expressway for normal traffic by afternoon.

More than half of the over 20 camps along the road had been dismantled by mid- afternoon. Many were working overtime to pack and move stuff.

“Some 2,000 chairs and over 200 tables along with plywood planks and ceiling fans had to be shifted. But with most decorators pressing all their men into the job, we managed to clear the highway by afternoon,” said Bidyut Kumar Bera, one of the 16 decorators from Singur at the site.

Calcutta’s Modern Decorators, which had set up the main dais — No. 8 — where Mamata Banerjee had camped, was also packing and moving its items.

“Some 300 saal khutis (logs) were used to set up the stage along with tin, wooden planks and bamboo. We have ferried most of the items to Calcutta. The rest should be over by tonight,” said a Modern worker.

Even the saal-bamboo structure blocking the supply gate to the Nano plant had been removed by this evening.

“There will be no problem now as we have assured the administration our full support in restoring normality,” said Becharam Manna, a convener of the Save Farmland Committee.