Kolkata, October 9:

Police arrested nearly 500 protestors today for trying to disrupt trade and transport in eastern India during a strike against the acquisition of agricultural land to set up a car plant.

The 12-hour strike was called by West Bengal state’s opposition party, the Trinamool Congress, against the government’s move to sell farm land to auto major Tata Motors for a factory near the state capital Kolkata.

Roads were deserted and shops and schools remained shut as more than 7,000 policemen patrolled the streets. The government, however, said it would go ahead with the Rs 10 billion Indian Currency (IC) project.