If the current tension continues in Singrauli, the power capital of India might soon become a ghost town like Singur. After a police firing on villagers protesting demolition of their houses to facilitate Essar's upcoming power project, farmers in Singrauli are up in arms against the forced acquisition of land. The government is planning to acquire over 4,000 acres for Essar's 1.250MW power project and Reliance Power Limited's 4.000MW Sasan ultra mega power project. The situation got out of hand when local authorities led by District Collector Vivek Porwal demolished 29 dalit houses and fired at the protestors on January 7. In reply, villagers of Bandhora burnt machinery worth Rs 60 crore of Essar Power Ltd. Said Porwal: "It was encroachment by the villagers on government land and we had simply gone there to move them. The public went berserk and attacked us with bows and arrows, while we were doing our job peacefully. People have built matchbox-like houses in anticipation of getting compensation and we have razed those structures." Villagers of Bandhora, Karsualal, Khairahi and Nagwa, who have formed a Sangarsh Samiti, have declared that they will not allow Essar to build the project unless all their people who have been jailed