Corona has put 62 lakh people of Assam, almost one-fifth of the total population, in the firing line of livelihood and rough lost is Rs 30,000 crore.
This was calculated by the OmeoKumar Das Institute of Social Science and Development (OKDISCD), which has beenCommissioned by State Innovation & transformation Ayog((SITA), Governmentof Assam.
According to the report, one out of five persons of Assam will either have a job loss, pay cut or change of livelihood or simply out of a livelihood.
" We are going into an extreme depression as the economy has collapsed and we need complete mission mode from Government with a 100-day vision to revive it otherwise it is completely dark," said economist Jaideep Barua of OKDISCD, one of the writers of the report.
His view was echoed by Mr. Abhijit Barooah, Managing Director of Premier Cryogenic Limited and one of the revered names in the world of industrialization and Entrepreneurship in Assam. " We have used a sledgehammer to kill a mosquito," said Mr Barua adding that a Coronavirus would stay for a long term but the economy was completely allowed to be broken . "We have already lost our legs and hands," said Mr. Barua.
According to the report. the hardest hit is the service sector which includes hotel, restaurant, retail, parking, repair etc. as it has lost Rs 5360 croe. The next is the manufacturing sector losing Rs 4160 crores.
The third is the Agri-forestry-fishery-Poultryand piggery sector with a rough estimate of Rs 4061 crores.
The report will be submitted next week to Assam Government and paint a very gloomy picture. On April 28, 29 people from economics and agricultural sector were invited by Assam Chief Minister for the suggestion to revive the economy.
Almost all the economists were of the opinion that the economic side was completely overlooked by the Government while fighting Coronavirus.
"Now due to the depression much more people will be dead and there will be much more social tension and suicide because of the loss of economy than the corona," said Mr Bara.
He also informed that as 5-6 lakh people will either come home or have stopped sending the monthly remittance home from their workplace, there will be the great effect on the rice cultivation of Assam as 20% of that remittance used to be spent on the cultivation.
"That amount is Rs 2000 crore. With that vacuum, the rural job market is going to crash further" said Mr Jaideep Barua.
Assam is slow to understand the gravity as for past 40 days the complete focus has been on to fight Corona. As the migrants are returning home in the next fortnight, Assam is heading for a spike but even at the cost of that, economists have argued for intrastate economy to open up to save the state from complete irreversible economical depression.
