Woman delivers baby on a country made boat in Assam’s Dhemaji amid COVID-19 lockdown

Guwahati, April 25: Woman delivers baby on a country made boat in Assam. Amidst the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown, a woman in Assam’s Dhemaji district delivered a baby on a country made boat.

The incident took place at the Udaypur Mechaki Sapori area in the Dhemaji district.

Sharing the incident on social media, the National Health Mission, Assam said that, a 19-year-old pregnant woman from Udaypur Mechaki Sapori area felt more labor pain and the family members not being able to contact with 108 ambulance service on April 21 and the family members of the pregnant woman were worried about it.

While the Dhemaji boat clinic was on way to conduct a health camp at Pakhoriguri Sapori (island village), the health team was asked to stop and the health staff had changed their way to Udaypur Mechaki Sapori.

The boat clinic medical officer and ANM had decided to deliver the baby on the country made boat without wasting time as they were far away from nearby hospitals.

Finally the health workers of the boat clinic had succeeded in delivering a healthy baby boy weighing 3 kg at 12-26 pm on April 21.

During the COVID-19 pandemic situation, the health workers had successfully conducted delivery of the healthy baby.

The NHM, Assam also said that, the delivery was done following all hygienic procedures and the surface was cleaned, necessary precautions were taken gloves were put on and the duo swung into action.

Coronavirus lockdown: 3-day conditional inter-district travel for 1 lakh people begins in Assam.

Guwahati, April 25: 3-day conditional inter-district travel in Assam. In a relief to the people who stuck in different places of the state, the Assam government on Saturday has started a 3-day conditional inter-district transport movement for stranded people in the state.

People stranded in different parts of the state due to COVID-19 lockdown began their journey to their home.

As per the state government directive, from April 25 to April 27, people will be allowed to commute back to their respective places and the state government has decided by following the guidelines of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Assam government will felicitate the inter-district movement to around 1 lakh people within the period who are stuck in different places of the state.

Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC) has arranged buses at different points in the state for the stranded people.

Assam government has issued around 12,500 passes for traveling in ASTC buses for Saturday.

Over 41,000 stranded people have applied for the passes that don’t have their vehicle.

Binod Kumar Choudhury, an official of Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC) said that, ASTC has arranged five pick-up points in Guwahati for the stranded people.

“From Paltan Bazar point of ASTC, a total of 443 passengers have gotten their tickets. We have arranged five different pick-up points in Guwahati,” Binod Kumar Choudhury said.
23-year-old Jyoti Sarma hailing from Nalbari district, who was stranded in Guwahati in the last one month due to lockdown, is now very happy after ASTC has started transport movement.

“Many people are stranded many places in the state due to lockdown and the government has taken a good initiative. I am very thankful to the government. Many people are still stranded in different states and it will help the people if the government will allow inter-state transport movement,” Jyoti Sarma said.

Sajid Hussain – a youth from Barpeta district, also very happy as he is returning to his home, who was stranded in Guwahati in the last month.

“We are facing many problems due to lockdown. The government has allowed us to return to our homes. I am very thankful to the government,” Sajid Hussain said.

On the other hand, over 51,400 people who have own vehicles and are stranded in different places in the state, have applied for e-passes to travel with their vehicles and the state government has issued around 12,200 passes for Saturday.

Coronavirus: Assam Excise department provides 7 lakh liters of hand sanitizers to NHM and state police

Guwahati, April 25: In the wake of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, the Assam Excise department provides around 7 lakh liters hand sanitizers to the National Health Mission (NHM) and Assam police to fight against the dreaded virus in the state.

The Assam Excise department has also distributed around 8000 liters hand sanitizers among the frontline warriors of COVID-19 free of cost.

At an initiative of the Assam Excise department, 11 liquor manufacturing companies in the state have supplied the hand sanitizers to the government department.

In one of the most innovative & dynamic initiatives envisaged by the Assam Excise Parimal Suklabaidya, the state Excise department has directed 11 major liquor manufacturing and bottling plants of the state to produce hand sanitizers adhering to the guidelines laid down by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India.

The liquor manufacturing and bottling plants of the state were directed to produce high-quality hand sanitizer (ENA based) on WHO-recommended formulation containing pure ENA, glycerine and other permitted chemical contents which is considered to be a first-hand weapon to tackle the infection of COVID-19 and to help the citizens to remain safe and protected from the same.

Accordingly, the liquor manufacturing and bottling plants were directed to produce 7 lakh liters of hand sanitizers packed in bottles of different sizes to supply to the National Health Mission, Assam and Assam Police at a very marginal and cost-effective rate of Rs 180 per liter, the commercial market value of which stands at Rs 3,000 per liter.

The state Excise department has provided around 7 lakh liters of hand sanitizers to the National Health Mission, Assam and Assam police so far.

Assam Excise department PRO Sailen Pandey said that, the state Excise department had directed 11 liquor manufacturing companies to produce hand sanitizers.

“We have already provided 5 lakh liters hand sanitizers to the National Health Mission and 2 lakh liters to Assam police at cost-effective rate of Rs 180 per liter. We have only taken the amount of laborer and bottling costs. We have also distributed hand sanitizers to the frontline warriors free of cost,” Sailen Pandey said.

The Assam Excise department has suffered a huge loss of revenue collection due to the ongoing nationwide COVID19 lockdown and it is estimated around Rs 371 crore based on recent trends of collection.

In last year, the department had collected Rs 2574.04 crore as a revenue collection including VAT on liquor.

Coronavirus: Assam government distributes 3.40 lakh masks among tea garden workers.

Guwahati, April 24: Sonowal distributed masks among tea garden workers. In the wake of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, the Assam government has distributed 3.40 lakh three-layer masks among the tea garden laborers in the state.

Sonowal distributed masks among more than 1.13 lakh tea garden workers in 177 tea gardens in the state so far.

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Friday visited Bokpara tea estate in Dibrugarh district and interacted with female workers of the garden who were engaged in plucking tea leaves.

The Assam Chief Minister informed them about the importance of wearing masks at public places and maintaining social distancing in the wake of a worldwide outbreak of novel Coronavirus.

Sonowal appreciated the garden workers for adhering to the lockdown guidelines and maintaining the social distancing norm in the garden and he also distributed masks among tea garden workers.

The Assam Chief Minister said that, the State government made relaxations in the conditions during the second phase of the lockdown as per the central government direction, and accordingly tea gardens were allowed to carry out a certain set of activities while adhering to the government guideline.

Sonowal said that the tea industry in Assam always played an important role in the economic well being of the state and the state government also took several efforts to strengthen the tea sector during the second phase of the lockdown.

Moreover, saying that tea garden management and workers would have to strictly follow the condition of social distancing while carrying out plucking and processing tea leaves, the Assam Chief Minister stated that all deputy commissioners were directed to ensure complete enforcement of the same.

“The Deputy Commissioners were already instructed to form monitoring cells to supervise the implementation of lockdown norms in the gardens and said that adequate steps were taken to safeguard the interests of small tea growers of the state as well. All Deputy Commissioners were instructed to maintain a close watch on equitable distribution of government relief among tea garden workers,” Sonowal said.

He said that, Deputy Commissioners were asked to maintain close coordination with garden management and tea garden sardars for compliance of the same.

Assam tightened vigilance in bordering areas after COVID-19 positive cases rising in West Bengal

Guwahati, April 24: Given the current COVID-19 pandemic situation, the Assam government has tightened vigilance along the bordering areas with West Bengal.

Assam government has made strict vigil in Dhuri and Kokrajhar district – two bordering districts with West Bengal after COVID-19 positive cases have risen in the neighboring state.

Assam Health Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday said that, the state government has increased surveillance activities along the bordering areas with West Bengal.

“COVID-19 positive cases in West Bengal have risen and we don’t want any suspected person from West Bengal side to enter into Assam,” Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

Assam government has directed the district administration of Dhubri and Kokrajhar to check all persons including truck drivers coming from outside of the state.

On the other hand, the Assam government will conduct random tests for COVID-19 in Dhubri district from April 26.

“Five positive cases for COVID-19 have been reported from Dhubri in a regular interval and we have decided to conduct random testing for COVID-19 in the district,” Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

He further said that, health workers, doctors will randomly collect swab samples from 150 persons at Bilasipara, Chapar, and Dhubri town on April 26.

Assam has registered 35 positive cases for COVID-19 so far and among them one patient died and 19 patients were discharged from the hospitals.

NDRF conducts sanitization drive in Guwahati, distributes foods among needy people:

Guwahati, April 24: NDRF conducts sanitization drive in Guwahati. In the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has conducted sanitization drive in Guwahati and other parts of Assam.

The NDRF teams had conducted sanitization drives at different hospitals, educational institutions, government offices on April 23 and 24 as a part of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

The NDRF teams sprayed out disinfectant consisting of Sodium Hypochlorite in the offices, hospitals.

On the other hand, four sub-teams of NDRF, Guwahati had distributed food items among the poor laborers and their families who unable to earn their livelihood due to the closure of factories amid nationwide lockdown.

NDRF teams had distributed food items at Katamura village in Kamrup district and the distribution was done by maintaining social distancing measures under the supervision of NDRF officer Sanjeev Kumar Sinha.

On the other hand, the 12th Battalion of NDRF, based in Duimukh in Arunachal Pradesh had conducted sanitization drive-by spraying disinfectants in many places in Lakhimpur district.

Recently, the NDRF teams had sprayed out disinfectant consisting of Sodium Hypochlorite at airport terminal area, checking points and domestic air cargo of Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport at Borjhar in Guwahati.

Assam tea industry losses Rs.1000 crore due to COVID-19 lockdown:

Guwahati, April 24: Assam tea industry losses Rs.1000 crore. The 180-year-old tea industry of Assam has hit hard by the lockdown to beat the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) and it has witnessed a revenue loss of Rs.1000 crore.

Even as the government has allowed the tea gardens to resume work with a maximum 50 percent workforce and maintain social distancing norms, the Assam’s tea industry has witnessed a huge loss during the lockdown period.

One of the big sectors of the state which employs around 1.5 million people in both big and small tea gardens has faced different challenges during this period.

The first flush of tea which falls between March-April and it produces the best quality of tea, has already affected.

The tea gardens in the state had to close down from March 22 and the government had allowed the gardens to resume works with a maximum 50 percent workforce from April 15.

Tea Association of India (TAI) Assam branch Secretary Dipanjal Deka said that, due to lockdown, the Assam tea industry has faced huge losses.

“We missed the first flush and hopeful that we will get the second flush. The loss has been attributed to skiffing or removal of overgrown tea leaves that are not fit for harvesting and when tea leaves become too long, overgrown, we can’t produce the best quality tea. When the first flush of tea has come out it takes a maximum of three weeks. We lost around 40 million kg of tea. A huge amount of tea leaves are also coming from the small tea growers. The entire tea industry of Assam has faced a loss of around Rs 1000 crore,” Dipanjal Deka said.

He further said that, following the government order, most of the tea gardens are now functional with a maximum 50 percent workforce and the tea gardens are following the government guidelines.

“Production has started, but we are facing another problem that how to sell our produce. The tea auction has also opened at Guwahati Tea Auction Centre from April 23. How we are sending the samples to our buyers and some buyers are from Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Gujarat. We don’t know how to send the product samples to them and without participation in an auction, we will not get a good price,” Dipanjal Deka said.

“The tea gardens have opened with a maximum 50 percent workforce and the gardens have to bear all expenses. Without selling the tea how we will get the money to pay the workers. In a medium-size tea garden, there are around 2000 workers. We have not only to pay their wages, but also provided ration. It is difficult for maximum tea gardens to arrange that money,” Dipanjal Deka said.

According to the Tea Board of India report, Assam had produced 715.79 million kg tea last year.

Following the government order, tea auction has been started at Guwahati Tea Auction Centre from April 23.

Last year, the Guwahati Tea Auction Centre sold 195 million kg of tea produced in Assam.

A rare variety of Assam tea, Golden Butterfly Tea of Dikom Tea Estate of Rossell Tea Industries set a world record after it had auctioned at Rs 75,000 per kg at Guwahati Tea Auction Centre last year.

There are a total of 803 registered tea gardens and more than 10,000 small tea gardens in Assam and around 45 lakh daily wage laborers are working in the tea gardens.

Huge quantity of illegal liquor worth Rs 40 lakh seized in Assam amid COVID-19 lockdown:

Guwahati, April 24: Amid the Coronavirus lockdown, Assam Excise department has seized a huge quantity of illegal liquor worth of Rs 40 lakh in Assam’s Darrang district.

Based on secret inputs, a team of Assam Excise Intelligence Bureau and police had jointly launched an operation at the Mangaldoi area and seized two trucks near a petrol pump at Mangaldoi on Thursday night.

During the search operation, the Excise department officials had found 2400 cases of illegal liquor worth Rs 40 lakh which were transported from Arunachal Pradesh.

The team had seized the trucks with illegal liquor and arrested four persons in connection with it.

The Excise department team chased down the vehicles bearing registration numbers NL-01 L-6374 and RJ-52G A-1305(both vehicles are being blacklisted by various RTOs in different states) after a long run of 4 hours with the help of Mangaldoi police amidst the lockdown.

Meanwhile, a case has been registered at Mangaldoi police station and the Assam Excise department also registered separate cases.

Assam Excise department PRO Sailen Pandey said that, the seized liquors were illegally transported from Arunachal Pradesh amid lockdown.

“Our team had conducted a successful operation and seized a huge quantity of illegal liquor worth Rs 40 lakh. Four persons have been arrested in connection with it. We have registered a case under the sections of the Assam Excise Act and Assam Excise Rules,” Sailen Pandey said.

On the other hand, Assam Excise minister Primal Suklabaidya has directed the department officials to launch massive operations against the Operandi who run illegal liquor businesses across the state.