Jajarkot, May 2

One kg salt costs Rs 60 at Barekot of Jajarkot though the price of iodised salt is Rs nine in the district headquarters.

Locals are forced to pay exorbitant price for salt as far-flung Barekot Rural Municipality does not have a salt depot. The government provides grant to supply salt to Jajarkot to distribute iodised salt at affordable price.

The subsided salt costs Rs 9 per kg in the headquarters.

Local traders procure subsided salt and sell it at higher price in remote parts.

Traders use tractors to ferry salt midway to Barekot and then use mules to carry it to remote parts avoiding police scrutiny.

Locals said the administration turned a blind eye to the ongoing illegal trade. One kg salt is sold at Rs 50 in the lower belt of Barekot and Rs 60 in the upper part of Barekot.

Tali Mahatara, a local said people were compelled to buy salt paying seven times the original price. “There is shortage of salt. Therefore, we are forced to buy it at the exorbitant price set by the trader,” said Mahatara.

The rural municipality has bought 3,000 kg subsidised salt to meet the demand of locals at Barekot. Rural municipality Chair Mahendra Bahadur Shah said his office would distribute one kg salt to every household in the first phase.

Jajarkot CDO Janakraj Pant said Salt Trading Corporation’s depot in the headquarters and Nalgad depot had adequate stock of salt.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on May 3, 2020 of The Himalayan Times.