820 industries, 783 big tea gardens and 1.18 lakh small gardens resume operations in Assam:

Guwahati, May 6: After a month, industries and tea gardens in Assam have started to resume operations following the relaxations announcement made by the government during the ongoing nationwide COVID-19 lockdown.

Around 820 industries employing over 28,000 people and 783 big tea gardens and 1.18 lakh small tea gardens have started functioning in the state.

Assam Industries and Commerce Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary on Wednesday said that, the industry sector of Assam has contributed about 39 percent to state GDP and provide direct employment to approximately 4 lakh people and indirect employment to around 20 lakh people.

“Due to COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, all industries, tea gardens were shut down and the state has faced a huge loss in revenue collection. But following the center’s directive around 820 industries and 783 big tea gardens and 1.18 lakh small tea gardens have started functioning in the state. 508 tea factories and 296 bought-leaf factories have been allowed to function. 7.33 lakh workers are being engaged in the big tea gardens and about 3 lakh workers are working in the small tea gardens. Regular visits are being made by the department officers for ensuring compliance of COVID-19 guidelines in the industrial units,” Chandra Mohan Patowary said.

The Assam minister also said that the tea industry is the biggest in the state, and being seasonal, the lockdown coincided with the start of the new season and this industry has been hit hard as their major production period has been affected.

“The tea production in India during 2019 was 1389.70 million kg. Tea production in Assam in 2019 was 715.49 million kg, i.e., 51.51 percent of the total tea production in India. But because of the lockdown, the total decline in production of tea in Assam by big tea gardens and small tea gardens is estimated at 32 million kg amounting to a loss of more than Rs 500 crore. Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has already announced the waiver of the Minimum Fixed Charge of supply of natural gas to the tea gardens which were closed during the lockdown period,” Patowary said.

He also said that, it is going around that many American, Japanese and Korean companies are contemplating shifting their production facilities from China to India.

“To woo these companies, Assam government has taken up with Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Government of India, Invest India, Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), US-India Business Council and US Chamber of Commerce to facilitate and advise those companies to set up their production facilities in Assam as the state has the strategic locational advantage, vast natural resources, robust industrial infrastructure, and reliable connectivity, etc,” the Assam minister said.

Patowary said that the state Industries and Commerce Department is in touch with DPIIT and JETRO for setting up of a Japanese Industrial Township in Assam to attract investment from Japanese industries.

Assam first-ever COVID19 patient along with another positive patient discharged from hospital:

Guwahati, May 6: First-ever COVID19 positive patient of Assam discharged. Assam’s first COVID-19 patient and another patient were discharged from hospitals on Wednesday.

The patients were discharged from Silchar Medical College Hospital and Mahendra Mohan Choudhury Hospital in Guwahati.

Assam’s first COVID-19 positive patient named 52-year-old Jalaluddin – a resident of Karimganj district was tested positive for COVID-19 on March 31 and he was shifted to Silchar Medical College Hospital.

After fighting for more than a month, the 52-year-old patient has tested negative and he was discharged from hospital on Wednesday.

On the other hand, another COVID-19 patient was discharged from Mahendra Mohan Choudhury hospital on Wednesday.

So far, 34 COVID-19 patients were discharged from different hospitals of the state.

Assam Health Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma tweeted – “Glad to share that two more #COVID19 patients, Jalaluddin (1st patient) & Motiur Tarapdar, have been discharged from SMCH & MMCH respectively, after three consecutive negative tests. Now the number of active cases in Assam is 9, with a total of 44 positive cases so far.”

Glad to share that two more #COVID19 patients, Jalaluddin (1st patient) & Motiur Tarapdar, have been discharged from SMCH & MMCH respectively, after three consecutive negative tests.

Now the number of active cases in Assam is 9, with total 44 positive cases so far. #AssamCares pic.twitter.com/cQqQ51Y6wu

— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) May 6, 2020

Assam has reported 44 positive cases for COVID-19 so far and one among them died at the hospital.

Assam has now nine active COVID-19 positive cases.

Assam Government makes extensive plans to fight against COVID-19 outbreak by taking various measures:

Guwahati, May 6: Assam makes extensive plans to fight against COVID-19. As the inflow of the people from Assam stranded in various states has started, the Assam government has decided to start Assam Community Surveillance Programme across the state to identify Influenza-Like Illness (ILI) cases amid COVID-19 outbreak.

The state Health Department has formed around 1000 medical teams for this task and the teams will visit around 25000 villages in the state in the next four weeks.

One doctor will lead each medical team and each team has consisted of Multipurpose Health Worker (MPW), Surveillance Worker, Auxiliary Nurse Midwifery (ANM), an Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) worker.

The Village Headman will also help the medical team.

Anurag Goel, Commissioner and Secretary of the state Health Department said that the state Health Department has decided to start the Assam Community Surveillance Programme across the state to check Influenza-Like Illness (ILI) cases.

Anurag Goel said that, the state Health Department has already formed more than 900 medical teams and the teams will visit around 25,000 villages across the state in the next four weeks.

“We have formed more than 900 medical teams across the state to visit every village in the next three to four weeks to do surveillance for influenza-like cases. MPW, Surveillance Worker, ANM, ASHA worker, and medical officer are in each team and local Gaoburha (village headman) will also involve. The village headman will identify the persons who come from outside and they have some symptoms. We will target those persons and their families. If required, we will keep them immediately home quarantine and collect their samples. If tested positive then we will bring them to isolation,” Anurag Goel said.

He further said that – “It is our strategy. People have started coming and we are going to villages.”

“One team will cover around 25 villages in four weeks. We have 42,000 ASHA workers and they are working in villages. There are around 4700 health sub-centers across the state and around 5000 ANM are working in these sub-centers. For this task, we are taking help from the private doctors also. Many private doctors have come forward to help us voluntarily,” Anurag Goel said.

According to the Assam government, over 15 lakh people from the state mostly are migrant laborers have stranded at different parts in the country due to lockdown and many students, people have returned to the state.

The Commissioner and Secretary of the state Health Department said that, the government has established extensive facilities for screening and checking the people at the state borders and the district borders.

“After the screening, the patient who will be asymptomatic, we will do active surveillance of these people by keeping them on home quarantine through our frontline workers. Those people who will have minor symptom we will immediately take them into facility quarantine. We have sufficient facility quarantine beds across the state. Because facility quarantine need not be at the hospital, it can be in school, colleges, any residential place, Dharamsala, hotels and the district Deputy Commissioners have already identified a sufficient number of facilities across the state,” Anurag Goel said.

He also said that, the state government has created 1000 beds facility at Baxirhat in Dhubri district along the West Bengal border and another 1000 beds facility at Kokrajhar SAI stadium.

“People who are highly symptomatic, we will not allow them to enter into the heart of the state and will keep them in border quarantine center and if found positive then taken them to isolation,” Anurag Goel said.

Assam has reported 44 positive cases for COVID-19 so far and one among them died and 32 others were discharged from hospitals.

Assam CM directs state Transport department to make arrangements of ASTC buses for transporting stranded people

Guwahati, May 5: With the lockdown being relaxed, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Tuesday directed the state Transport department to do a mapping of its fleet of Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC) buses in proportion to the people stranded in different places of the state and country to ensure their safe movement.

Chairing a meeting to review the preparedness of the state Transport department to push its fleet of buses into service to transport the stranded people of the state to their respective destinations at the conference hall of Assam Skill Development Mission in Guwahati, Sonowal said that in this time of extraordinary health emergency, the Transport department should provide qualitative services in line with the advisories given by the Health Department.

Thanking the Transport department for being on the frontline in providing emergency and essential services during the lockdown, Sonowal emphasized that the management and movement of the buses should be made judiciously to mitigate the hardships of the stranded people.

State Transport minister Chandra Mohan Patowary giving a snapshot of different activities performed by the department during the lockdown period, told the Assam Chief Minister that his department during eight days from April 25 to May 2, moved 2090 buses to transport 32444 number of passengers.

He also drew the attention of the Chief Minister that for the benefits of the passengers and transporters besides permitting opening 45 Dhabhas along the highways, 85 garages were permitted to be opened during the lockdown period.

Patowary said that ASTC besides facilitating operation of 200 city buses, took steps for plying 284 inter-district buses.

On the other hand, the Assam Chief Minister said that to ensure that no resident of Assam faces any encumbrances during the lockdown period, the state government helped Food Corporation of India (FCI) to bring 5 lakh MT rice to the state.

“During the same period FCI brought 6.5 lakh MT rice for the entire Northeast. During this period besides 452 railway rakes, 44,732 goods laden trucks entered the state,” Sonowal said.

The Assam Chief Minister informed the press that during lockdown period for transporting essential foodstuff to different parts of the state 53118 trucks were pressed into service.

Sonowal urged upon the people of the state to adhere to social distancing protocols and underscored the state government’s efforts to ensure that no academic year is lost in the name of COVID 19.

The Assam Chief Minister later visited the Prem Singh Brahma Inter-State Bus Terminus and talked to the passengers.

He also took stock of the arrangements made by the ASTC for the operation of the fleet of buses.

Assam silk industry losses Rs.100 crore due to COVID-19 lockdown:

Guwahati, May 5: Assam silk industry losses Rs.100 crore. Over 20,000 weavers and allied workers of Sualkuchi – the hub of Assam’s silk industry facing uncertainties as the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic badly hit the entire silk industry.

The silk industry of Assam has faced losses of Rs 100 crore during the ongoing nationwide lockdown.

Assam has a rich textile cultural tradition with three primary indigenous silks – Golden Muga, White Pat, and Warm Eri, and Sualkuchi is known as the hub of the state’s silk industry located 35 km west from Guwahati – the capital city of Assam.

Assam is well known for the production of high-quality silk since ancient times.

But the Coronavirus lockdown has had a devastating impact on the weavers and allied workers and over 200 wholesale traders of Sualkuchi.

The handloom owners have now been forced to stop their production after they had failed to find the market to sell their production silk cloths due to the ongoing lockdown.

Assamese Rongali Bihu season – April-May month is the peak sale season and the weavers, workers, owners, and traders of the silk industry have waited for this season every year, but the Coronavirus stuck the peak sale season this year.

Annamalai Kalita – a female weaver of the Sualkuchi area who also runs several handlooms said that, they are facing a lot of problems.

“We have not able to sell our products. There is no market due to lockdown. We are now facing money problems. Many weavers are also facing a food crisis,” Annamai Kalita said.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, maximum marriages have been canceled or postponed and this year’s Rongali Bihu celebrations also put off and it has drastically impacted in the silk industry business.

35-year-old Bhanita Das hailing from Nalbari said that, she came to Sualkuchi to earn some money by weaving a few months ago.

“But the loom owners have not able to pay us because of no sale of any production. From owners to weavers and other workers all are facing many difficulties,” Bhanita Das said.

Assam is the third-largest silk production state in the country and the state had produced 5029 MT of raw silk in 2018-19.

Assam contributes almost 90 percent of Muga silk and 65 percent of Eri silk production in the country.

But the local production is not sufficient and forcing the weavers, loom owners to buy yarns from China and due to COVID-19, China had stopped the export since March.

Assam CM directs state Veterinary and Forest department to work with ICAR to deal with African Swine Fever:

Guwahati, May 4: Assam state Vet to deal with African Swine Fever. Taking seriousness over the issue after 2500 pigs of the state died due to the African Swine Fever (ASF), Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Monday directed the state Veterinary department and Forest department to work with National Pig Research Centre of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (RILEM), Rani to draw a broad roadmap to save the state’s pig population from African Swine Fever.

As the sudden spurt of African Swine Fever has reportedly hit many districts of the state with the pig population took the brunt of this viral infection, Sonowal on Monday visited Regional Institute of Livestock Entrepreneurship and Management (RILEM) at Rani and took stock of the situation.

The Assam Chief Minister directed the Veterinary and Animal Husbandry department and Forest department to work in close synergy with the National Pig Research Centre of ICAR to deal with the situation and draw a broad roadmap to bail the state out of the problem.

Sonowal held a meeting with the doctors of ICAR and RILEM and discussed in detail the magnitude of swine fever and the strategy of the state to mitigate the problem.

The Assam Chief Minister asked the doctors and other functionaries to ensure total cleanliness and sensitization of the pig habitable areas and use disinfectants.

“In the face of absence of any vaccination to deal with the infection, cleanliness, distancing and containment are the golden protocols to fight against the virus. After the outbreak of the swine fever in Assam, an expert team was constituted taking animal scientists within its fold,” Sonowal said.

Sonowal reiterated on the need to contain and control the spurt of the virus to save the piggery industry from this onslaught.

During the meeting the Assam Chief Minister also asked the Veterinary and Animal Husbandry department to do a ‘threat-mapping’ and undertake containment measures across the state.

He also directed the department to find out the total number of entrepreneurs engaged in the piggery sector and their financial liability so that the government can take pragmatic steps to announce the bailout package to save the entrepreneurs from penury.

It may be noted that the African Swine Fever – an African centric problem was the pig ailment which was first reported in 1921 in Kenya, Ethiopia though the problem is very rare in this part of the country.

Chief Minister Sonowal also visited Nucleus Pig Breeding Centre and took the first-hand information of the condition of the pigs and took stock of the skill development training programs of RILEM and asked it to enhance its ambit to bring more entrepreneurs to lend skilling to them.

Assam Agriculture, Veterinary and Animal Husbandry, etc. minister Atul Bora, Chairman Assam Livestock and Poultry Corporation Manoj Saikia, Director, Pig Research Centre, ICAR Rani Dr. Swaraj Rajkhowa, Director Veterinary and Animal Husbandry Dr. Pulin Chandra Das, Dean College of Veterinary Science Dr. Vivekananda Saikia, Director RILEM Dr. N.N. Mahanta and several others were present at the meeting.

COVID-19: SITA takes initiative to make an urgent action plan to revive the Assam economy

Guwahati, May 4: SITA takes the initiative to revive the economy of Assam. Taking the initiative to make an urgent action for an effective time-bound strategy to take forward the development agenda following COVID-19 outbreak and aftermath, the State Innovation & Transformation Aayog (SITA), Assam has engaged KPMG, an international consultancy services organization for preparing a paper considering the importance of agriculture, its allied activities like veterinary, dairy, fishery sectors in the state’s economy.

SITA is also working on a strategy paper for the state government by engaging Ernst & Young (EY), another multinational organization on the tea industry of the state.

The 180-year-old tea industry of Assam has faced a loss of over Rs 1000 crore during the COVID-19 lockdown period.

SITA vice-chairman Dipok Kumar Barthakur has initiated an urgent action plan to revive the state economy.

Accordingly, Chief Executive Officer of SITA Nitin Khade has been coordinating with senior officials of the government, experts, and professionals in the respective fields of study to assess the socio-economic impact of the current global health crisis.

All these studies were taken up during the lockdown period in April 2020 and all the processes relating to data sharing, correspondence, direction & decision making etc., were initiated through IT-enabled platforms.

The status of the strategy reports for the state with help and support from departments or organizations and experts concerned in respective areas of specialization are as the assessment of the economic and social impact of COVID-19 on Assam where OKD Institute of Social Change and Development (OKDISCD) is entrusted with the responsibility of preparing the strategy report within a specific timeframe.

SITA stated that, the draft report is ready and the final version will be submitted in the first week of May and the outcome of the report should serve the state government in chalking out its action plan at the micro and macro level to meet the challenges facing the state.

“Considering the importance of agriculture, its allied activities like veterinary, dairy, fishery sectors in the state’s economy, a sector-specific strategy paper is also under preparation by KPMG, an international consultancy services organization with the help and support from all related government departments and agencies. The draft report is ready and it will be finalized for submission to the government in a couple of days,” SITA stated in a press release.

“Another important sector of the state’s major concern is the tea industry. SITA took up the responsibility and is working on a strategy paper for the state government by engaging Ernst & Young (EY), another multinational organization with support from government departments including tea industry organizations. Given recent debacle experienced in the trade, businesses, and the services sector, SITA decided to engage Assam Chambers of Commerce to discuss the issues demanding immediate attention in their forum with other related organizations viz. FICCI, FINER, CII, ICC, etc and in consultation/dialogue with government departments, agencies to work out a strategy for the state to come up with some action-oriented programs,” SITA said in the release

Accordingly, the forum is in the process of data collection and other related works in shaping the points of deliverables.