Bankim Choudhury’s parents at their home in Jalpaiguri. Picture by Biplab Basak

Siliguri, Oct. 6: A frown creasing his forehead, Bankim Choudhury sits in the verandah of his dilapidated hutment on the banks of the Teesta, waiting for the phone to ring.

The rickshaw-puller’s son and some friends are desperately hoping Tata Motors will allot them jobs at any of its other units, given the promises Ratan Tata made while announcing his withdrawal from Singur.

“I was happy working as a trainee in the engine assembly unit of the mother plant. But the Trinamul dharna and what followed halted our training. The Tatas quitting Singur was the final blow,” Bankim, whose home is in Jalpaiguri’s Saradapalli, said.

A diploma holder from Jalpaiguri Polytechnic Institute, Bankim and 30-odd trainees from north Bengal were told last month, at the height of the Singur stand-off, that they would have to attend classes at the Central Training Institute in Howrah’s Dasnagar from October 20.

“When work at the plant came to a standstill, we were told the training would be conducted elsewhere,” Sanjoy Ghosh, from Jalpaiguri’s Mahamayapara, said.

“We have got our salaries for September and are banking on this training. If it is cancelled, it is better to see it as a closed chapter. But if the training is held, we can hope Tata Motors has some plans for us.”

But the trainees are worried because Ratan Tata did not specifically mention them during his withdrawal announcement. “So far, there has been no phone call from our supervisors. So we are hoping the training will be held as scheduled,” Bankim said.

“But the situation might change anytime. Truthfully speaking, most of us are already looking for other alternatives.”

Ratan Roy of Mainaguri, who joined work in July, said he had been worried he would not get leave for Puja as the Nano rollout was scheduled around that time.

“We were told the company would meet the October deadline for the Nano rollout. So we thought that chances of getting leave were nil,” he said.

“But now, things have come full circle. I am at home for Puja, with my family and friends, and in no hurry to return. I am so anxious all the time that I cannot enjoy the festival,” he said.

Since most of the trainees came from poor families, parents had begun pushing them to look for new jobs, Roy said.

“Sitting idle is difficult because our families depend on us. If nothing happens after Puja, we will have to start hunting for jobs again, maybe outside Bengal.”

His friend, Joy Das, added: “My parents have told me to look for another job. I think many of us are facing similar pressure.”