Calcutta, Sept. 30: Protests against the government?s decision to wind up four subsidiaries of Webel peaked in the final hour with workers demanding fresh negotiations with the government and a one-month extension of today?s shutdown deadline.

Though the agitation in front of Webel Bhavan, which later spilled on to the sprawling campus, was peaceful, around 150 protesters kept S.K. Mitra, managing director of the state?s nodal IT agency, under siege through the day.

Talking to The Telegraph late on Thursday evening, Mitra said: ?I am in office? Don?t know when I will go home.? He declined to comment on the gherao.

Sources in Webel said Mitra held a series of meetings with representatives of the protesters from Webel Carbon and Metal Film Resistors, Webel Crystals, Webel Capacitors and Webel Video Devices in the presence of police officials, but nothing came of the sessions.

With the curtains coming down on these four companies, 450 employees have lost their jobs.

?I heard some Citu members have also taken part in the gherao of the managing director. But we have made it clear that we are against such measures,? said Citu leader Shyamal Chakraborty.

Anticipating problems, elaborate police arrangements were made near Webel Bhavan and the mood in the tech town was tense since morning. Employees of the four units assembled in the afternoon and started shouting anti-government slogans.

?This is the outcome of Citu?s infighting. There were differences within Citu over the compensation package and also the process of restructuring. But the government went ahead with its restructuring plan,? explained a Webel insider, hinting at the possibility of a fresh package for the employees.

Though all the employees had accepted the ERS scheme, protesters complained Citu leaders had forced them to accept the ?paltry? offer.