82 years of service to the nation PUBLISHED SIMULTANEOUSLY FROM GUWAHATI & DIBRUGARH GET IT ON RN-1127/57 TECH/GH – 103/2018-2020, VOL. 82, NO. 131 www.assamtribune.com Google Play ePaper app for The Assam Tribune Pages 12 Price: 6.00 GUWAHATI, SATURDAY, MAY 16, 2020 p2 ‘Over 580,000 surgeries in p5 Machkhowa bank branch p11 2 hurt in accidental firing India may be cancelled’ sealed, staff quarantined in Nagaon market Rs 1.63 lakh cr No shortage of essential items EPFO penalty aaagggri pac kakaka gggeee NEW DELHI, May 15: Retirement fund body in NE States EPFO has decided not to announced impose any penalty for SPL CORRESPONDENT related feed-backs. delay in payment of One after the other, each of employees’ provident fund Centre to amend Essential NEW DELHI, May 15: Of- the Resident Commissioners contributions by firms ficials representing the north- conveyed to the minister that during the nationwide Commodities Act lockdown. – PTI eastern States on Friday told there is no shortage of essen- NEW DELHI, May 15: In commodities. the Centre that there is no tial supplies or medical equip- Trade strike the third tranche of the The minister said after shortage of essential supplies ment in their respective NEW DELHI, May 15: COVID-19 economic pack- the amendment, stock limit or medical equipment in their States and thanked the min- Ten central trade unions age, the government on will be imposed only under respective States to tackle ister’s office for continuous on Friday gave a call for a Friday announced a slew of very exceptional circum- COVID-19 cases. follow-up of their issues. They nationwide strike on May measures for agriculture stances like national calami- 22 to protest against the Union minister Dr Jitendra also spelled out how they suspension of labour sector, including a Rs 1.63 ties and famine when there Singh today held a video con- were effectively trying to laws by some States lakh crore outlay, and is a surge in prices. ferencing with the Delhi- streamline the movement of during the lockdown amending the stringent Further, no such stock based Resident Commission- migrant labourers and stu- period. – PTI Essential Commodities Act limit shall apply to proces- ers of the eight northeastern dents, official sources said. Rafale jets to remove cereals, edible sors or value chain partici- States, besides Jammu and oil, oilseeds, pulses, onions pants, subject to their in- Kashmir, to get COVID-19 NEW DELHI, May 15: A man repairing a boat ahead of the monsoon in Majuli on Friday. – UB Photos SEE PAGE 6 The first four of the 36 and potato from its purview. stalled capacity, or to any Rafale jets are expected to Also, a new law will be exporter, depending on the land in India by last week of framed to give farmers the export demand. CM for extension July as the coronavirus option to choose the market Sitharaman said farmers State incurring pandemic delayed their where they want to sell their currently are bound to sell of lockdown by scheduled delivery by produce by removing inter- agriculture produce only to WORLD around 11 weeks, official State trade barriers and pro- licensees in APMCs (Agri- two weeks Rs 1,000-cr loss daily sources said on Friday. – PTI viding e-trading of agricul- cultural Produce Market STAFF REPORTER Confirmed cases 4,569,379 STAFF REPORTER pegged the daily loss of the ture produce. Committees) while no such Cured/Discharged 1,724,919 JOCOSERIOUS Announcing the third restriction of sale applies for GUWAHATI, May 15: State at Rs 1,000 crore, the tranche of an overall package any industrial produce. Chief Minister Sarbananda GUWAHATI, May 15: Chief Minister said that the Death 304,798 of Rs 20 lakh crore to deal These restrictions hinder Sonowal today said the Chief Minister Sarbananda stimulus announced by the INDIA with the economic fallout of the free flow of agriculture State government is for ex- Sonowal today said that the Centre would bail the State the COVID-19 pandemic, Fi- produce and lead to lower tension of lockdown by at State is incurring a daily loss out of the current crisis and Confirmed cases 81,970 nance Minister Nirmala price realisation for farmers. least two weeks, about of Rs 1,000 crore during the also largely benefit the Cured/Discharged 27,919 Sitharaman said foodstuffs, To deal with the situation, a which it had informed the lockdown period, even as he MSME sector, which forms including cereals, edible oils, Central law will be formulated Centre. expressed optimism that the the backbone of the indus- Death 2,649 oilseeds, pulses, onion, and to provide “adequate choices “During the video confer- economic package of Rs 20 trial sector of the State. potato, will be deregulated to farmer to sell produce at an encing with the Prime Min- lakh crore announced by the “The MSMEs form 99.9 ASSAM after the amendment to the attractive price, barrier-free ister, we have recommend- Central government would per cent of the industries in Confirmed cases 85 six-and-half-decade old Es- inter-State trade and frame- ed to the Centre to extend get the State’s economy the State and the industrial sential Commodities Act. work for e-trading of agricul- the lockdown period by two back on track. sector contributes 39 per Cured/Discharged 41 The Act empowers the ture produce,” she said. more weeks. Referring to a survey cent of the State’s GDP. As with floods, we now have Death 2 government to regulate done by the Confederation of to learn how to co-exist with Data as on Friday coronavirus... price as well as stocks of SEE PAGE 6 SEE PAGE 6 Indian Industry, which SEE PAGE 6 2 THE ASSAM TRIBUNE, GUWAHATI INTERNATIONAL SATURDAY, MAY 16, 2020 Tensions rise as A cautious New York begins limping back to economic life construction and manufacturing. gion meets seven benchmarks dem- Boutique clothing stores. Texas Guv readies In the largely-rural Mohawk Valley, onstrating that COVID-19 deaths and She already has signs telling cus- DANVANN Construction and Devel- hospitalisations are down and that tomers to stay in their cars while a to lift more rules opment is set to begin an excavation there are enough hospital beds if the worker brings packages to them. AUSTIN, May 15: Two Monday, including gyms job on Monday at a lake on the south- outbreak flares up again. Each re- She will be open for curbside pick- weeks into the reopening of cleared to reopen, a political ern edge of the huge Adirondack Park. gion must have a programme of test- up on Friday. But business is only Texas, coronavirus cases are confrontation is growing over “I’ve been lounging around the ing and contact tracing. about 25 per cent of what it was be- climbing. New outbreaks attempts by big cities to keep house a lot, and I’m ready to get The five regions of New York fore the pandemic, and she doesn’t still crop up. And at Guero’s some guardrails. busy,” said employee Justin Brown. poised to open on Friday cover a wide expect a rebound until customers Taco Bar in Austin, which of- The dispute underscores “I’d rather be working.” strip down the middle of the state. can browse the racks. fers the occasional celebrity the gulf between Democrats Job site rules will be different Excluded are New York City, Long “Sadly, the truth is if I don’t open, sighting, a log of every diner who run city halls and Grand next week, with workers keeping Island and the Hudson Valley on the we will close forever,” she said. and where they sat is be- Old Party (GOP) leaders who their hands disinfected and their fac- state’s east side, and the Buffalo re- “So, at some point we’re going to grudgingly in the works. call the shots in the capital in es covered, said company owner gion to the west. have to open.” If new COVID-19 cas- “It seems like a huge inva- Texas, where unlike in other Dan Roth, who has been paying his It might resemble a soft opening. es remain under control during the ini- sion of privacy,” said owner states, the Governor’s orders ALBANY, May 15: Shuttered sec- of upstate New York have been spared four idle employees. A lot of manufacturing, construction tial reopening, regions can open more Cathy Lipincott, who is none- supersede all local mandates tors of New York’s economy will be- the brunt of the coronavirus outbreak. They’ll also “have to stay 6 feet and retail deemed essential has con- types of businesses in a couple of weeks. theless trying to comply with during the pandemic. gin inching back to life on Friday with Govrenor Andrew Cuomo is allow- away from each other as best as you tinued in New York during the lock- The next phase will include office Austin’s local public health The renewed tensions more construction, manufacturing and ing many of those areas to gradually possibly can,” he said. down. And curbside retail pickup has jobs like professional services and in- guidelines by asking, but not come at a moment when Dr curbside retail pickups allowed in parts reopen first, industry by industry. Cuomo’s administration divided been available for food, wine and some surance, as well as retail. Restaurants requiring, customers to give Anthony Fauci, the nation’s of the state that are hours away from The first wave of businesses in- the state into 10 regions that will other retail goods.