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Guest Editorial: Assam's Dwindling Economic Condition

Assam is one of the most resourceful states of India.
Assam receives plenty of rainfall --- so full of water
resources. The soil is fertile. It is full of green
and there are a large number of rivers including the
mighty Brahmaputra.  She has abundant forest resources
and she has the petroleum reserves, which she can
boast of. Assam is one of the largest producers of tea
in the world. Then why is Assam suffering from a
pitiable economic condition?

I think it is the attitude of the Assamese people
towards life. The Assamese people are happy with
whatever they are getting. A competitive mind is not
there --- it seems. For example, Punjab is growing
three crops a year, but Assam is growing only two
crops in spite of good rainfall and fertile soil. In
Upper Assam only one crop is grown and the fields
remain idle for 8 months. What a pity state of
affairs!!

In spite of plenty of water resources, one doesn't
find any fishery on commercial scale in Assam.  Eighty
percent of fish consumed in Assam comes from Andhra
Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Most egg, fruit and vegetable
come from outside Assam . There is hardly any poultry
farm in Assam for supply of eggs and meat. Since most
of the essential commodities of daily consumption come
from outside Assam, it is a seller's market and people
of Assam are paying through their noses.

We have been hearing for last more than ten years that
there will be one Gas Cracker Plant in Upper Assam
with the help of natural gas produced by Oil India
Limited and ONGC. Once the plant once comes into
production, it will encourage establishment of a lot
of downstream industrial units and will generate lot
of employment. But why such a long time is required -
where is the problem? In the mean time, valuable
natural gas is being flared for lack of commitment.
How will economy grow when such a situation is allowed
to drag on and on?

There is no industrial growth in Assam. A lot of
foreign investments are coming to Gujarat,
Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
Then why is Assam not able to attract foreign
investors? The situation has to be rectified and
investors' confidence has to be built. There is a
tremendous potential for tourism industry in Assam. So
tourism has to be developed and infrastructure has to
be created.

Most of the tea produced in Assam is auctioned outside
the state, so Assam is deprived of her revenue from
the sale of tea.

Finally I would like to conclude that there is
something basic wrong somewhere. People at the helm of
affairs may put their heads together and find out
where the wrong is. There must be some economic
revival, otherwise it is difficult to imagine what is
there in store in not too distant future.

- By Ujjal K Pathak. Ujjal is pursuing BS in Computer
Science at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge,
Louisiana