Protesters stopped a power substation’s construction in Bhangar on Thursday alleging “unfulfilled promises” by the administration and the Power Grid Corporation of India, four months after work had resumed following a 19-month stand-off over claims of forced land acquisition.

Over 500 villagers descended on the site in South 24-Parganas, 35km from Calcutta, on Thursday, forcing repairs and restoration of equipment to be stopped.

Soon after, chief minister Mamata Banerjee asked why the project was being delayed and asked officials to ensure “no further problems arise”. “Try to complete the project before any new problem arises,” she told power secretary Sunil Kumar Gupta.

The administration has called a meeting with the protesters in Bhangar on Friday. “Every promise made would be fulfilled,” said a state official.

The Save Land, Livelihood, Life and Environment Committee, which spearheaded the land movement and organised Thursday’s siege, alleged the promises made ahead of an August truce this year were not being honoured.

The pact had allowed resumption of work after the 19-month hold-up that had seen two villagers die of bullet injuries during a clash with police in January 2017.

The promises include construction of a cold storage, upgrade of the local health centre to a block hospital, desiltation of a river and installation of streetlights. “The promises were made only to get us to withdraw our agitation so the utility (Power Grid) can complete its work. None of what was promised has materialised so far,” said Mirza Hassan, convenor of the committee.

The previous stand-off had caused Power Grid losses of Rs 25 crore, mainly from theft and damage to equipment during the protests. Another Rs 12 crore in compensation had to be paid to the land protesters.

The 440x220KV substation will be linked to transmission lines from Bihar’s Purnea and Kahalgaon and Bengal’s Farakka for smoother power flow in and around Calcutta.