Forty Years Ago, November 7, 1980: Assam At Standstill

Express front page, November 07, 1980. (Express archives)

The entire public transport system in Assam, including road and ferry services, has virtually came to a grinding halt due to scarcity of petroleum products, particularly high-speed diesel, the adviser to the Governor, K Ramamurthy, told newsmen Gauhati. He said that while the ferry services of the Central Inland Water Transport Corporation would come to a halt within a day or two, the movement of goods, including foodgrain, within Assam and to other states in the North-Eastern region had stopped. The city buses operated by the Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC) went off the road, he added.

Bleak Forecast

The mid-year economic scene reflects “many disquieting features” with the upward climb of the wholesale and consumer prices continuing unabated, the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) said. In its quarterly review (July-September) published recently, NCAER said there had been “no firm indications” of a reversal in the declining trend of the overall index of industrial production notwithstanding the beginnings of a turnaround in a few industries during the July-September quarter. The war between Iraq and Iran has raised “the spectre of future supply constraints in oil”.

Reagan’s Priority

Ronald Reagan, who swept to the US presidency, says his first priority will be to halt the growth of the federal government. “As I have said many times in the campaign, I would like to put a freeze on the hiring of employees to replace those who leave government service,” he told a television interviewer.

Embarrassing Leak

The Australian High Commissioner has been landed in a somewhat embarrassing situation by the leakage of his confidential report to his government suggesting that Indira Gandhi has not been able to provide effective government and that the possibility of military takeover cannot be ruled out.

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