Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Monday said he would speak to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on reopening of markets in western part of the country where tea is sent from Assam and is now under lockdown.

Sonowal said this while replying to a query from tea industry on the supply chain of the tea.

He, along with industries minister Chandra Mohan Patowary, held an interactive session with industry associations and PSUs on Impact of Covid-19 Pandemic on Industries of Assam.

The meeting was attended by representatives of industry associations.

“I will raise the issue of supply chain with Prime minister Narendra Modi as many places in the western part of the country where tea from Assam is sold are under lockdown,” he said.

Tea from Assam is mostly sold in the western part of the country. Adviser to the North Eastern Tea Association, Bidyananda Barkakoty, said for Assam Tea, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra are major markets and these states are badly affected by Covid-19 and some cities are under complete lockdown.

The meeting also saw industry experts expressing concern regarding adverse impact on various sectors due to the Covid-19 crisis and consequent lockdown and suggested measures to revive the economy. Industries in Assam contribute 39 per cent to the state’s GDP. Altogether 820 industries with 28,027 workers have been reopened following relaxation of lockdown.

The industry representatives also appreciated the state government for its relentless efforts to help the people.

Sonowal said the state government, in cooperation with various stakeholders, was working on a war footing to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on industries and businesses.

He urged all to work unitedly to find the way ahead to overcome the challenges. He said he would soon have a meeting with the state-level Bankers’ Committee on the issues raised by the industry.

“We have to show that we can overcome the challenge thrown up by Covid-19 pandemic” he said and requested all to help the government. The tea industry raised liquidity crunch issue and urged for relief on various issues.

On migrant labour, he said the government has taken up steps to facilitate return of migrant workers stranded at different places in the country and stressed on making the best use of their skills to boost the industrial sector.

Sonowal has already held a meeting with the recently constituted Economic Advisory Committee. He has called upon the committee to provide recommendations to streamline production-procurement-marketing chain.