Economy / Assam

GUWAHATI, September 6: Assam, where the majority of the people are fish eaters, is slowly becoming one of the largest fish importing states in the country. The state, which is already enmeshed in a financial tangle, now spends over Rs 63 crore a year to satisfy the demand of the fish consumers. The production of fish inside the state has remained largely stagnant over the past few years leading to a gradual increase in fish imports. Everyday, almost two dozen trucks enter the state through the Srirampur and Baxirhat checkgates on the Assam-West Bengal border bringing fish from states like...

GUWAHATI, September 4: Oil India Limited has been made to suffer heavy losses due to the failure of the Assam government to take necessary steps for the protection of the people of Khagorijan area of Dibrugarh district from floods and erosion. Oil India sources here said that the oil company struck oil in Khagorijan in 1997 and since then three oil wells are producing about 200 kilolitres of oil per day from that place. Oil India sources said it took steps for the all-round development of the area and steps have also been initiated for a thorough geological survey in the area. The area has...

SILCHAR, August 23: After milking the tea industry of Brahmaputra valley for years, the insurgents have now extended their tentacles to the Surama Valley causing serious panic among the planters here. Incidences of kidnappings, alleged inaction of the district authorities and withdrawal of the Army have shaken the roots of the local tea industry and triggered a major crisis even as its production went down due to bad weather as well as law and order problem. The Surama Valley branch of the Indian Tea Association sent an SOS to the Assam chief minister, Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, for his urgent...

DUBRUGARH, August 19: Residents of several villages of the Rohmaria area have resorted to an indefinite oil blockade at an oil rig located in the place, demanding immediate erosion-control measures and thus save property worth hundreds of crores of rupees on the northeastern fringes of Dibrugarh. Lending "unstinted support" to the agitation, the Dibrugarh district unit of Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chhatra Parishad on Wednesday submitted a memorandum to the deputy commissioner here, urging the Assam government to initiate urgent steps on erosion control at Rohmaria. The AJYCP has warned that...

DIBRUGARH, August 19: The Rs 4,000-crore Assam Gas Cracker Project is being delayed due to objections raised by the Indian Air Force (IAF), which has a MiG fighter base near Chabua, and wants the Dibrugarh district administration to construct the project at least 20 kilometres away from the base. However, the IAF has lately agreed to allow establishment of the gas cracker plant outside a six-kilometre radius from the Chabua IAF base. This would mean that the height of certain tall structures of the industry may have to be reduced so as to provide a clear runway approach to aircraft of the Air...

NEW DELHI, August 19: The wind of investments blowing all over the country may have finally touched the Northeast following the exemption of central excise duty in the region. Two cigarette giants have submitted four proposals envisaging investments worth of over Rs 400 crore, of which Rs 313 crore are proposed to be invested in Assam. Just when the gloomy investments scenario in the Northeast was about to look up, the Centre's move to exempt excise duties in the region has been challenged, with the Tobacco Institute of India, an apex body of all tobacco manufacturers, questioning the...

GUWAHATI, August 7: The Assam government, the Planning Commission and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) today signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the preparation of a state human development report (HDR) for Assam. The MoU was signed by the state Chief Secretary PK Bora, Planning Commission advisor Dr Rohini Nayar and senior Deputy Resident of UNDP in India, Richard Conroy, at a workshop on human development organised by the state government. The report will provide a realistic assessment of the current status of human development, highlight areas of progress and...

GUWAHATI, August 4: The North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Ltd (NEDFi) has sanctioned projects amounting to Rs 554 lakh in Tripura, Mizoram, Manipur and Assam. An official release said the statewise allocation was: Mizoram Rs 156.30 lakh, Manipur Rs 156 lakh; Tripura Rs 105 lakh and Assam Rs 137 lakh. NEDFi has sanctioned Rs 144 lakh as term loan to Greenwood Hospital Pvt Ltd for setting up a 59-bed hospital in Bawngkawn, Aizawl. It is an existing hospital with 30 beds on rented premises and is the only private healthcare unit providing tertiary healthcare facility in Mizoram...

GUWAHATI, July 29: The damages caused by floods in Assam so far this year has been estimated to be to the tune of Rs 100 cr, according to the state minister for revenue, Zoii Nath Sarma. He, however, said that it was only a rough preliminary estimate and the actual damages can be ascertained only when the floodwaters recede. The minister said the calamity relief fund for the state for the current financial year has been fixed at Rs 52 cr. The central government will bear Rs 40 cr, while the balance will have to be borne by the state government. He said the Centre has so far released only Rs 13...

Guwahati, July 15: Erosion of the banks of the river Brahmaputra all over the state has created havoc and according to the Flood Control Department officials, massive deforestation, particularly in the neighbouring country Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh is one of the main reasons for the problem. Though two waves of moderate floods hit Assam so far this year, fortunately the floods did not cause much damage till now and erosion of the banks of the river Brahmaputra has turned out to be the main problem. Sources said that different parts of the State have been affected by the problem of erosion...