Dhangadhi, December 5

Locals of hill districts in the far-west region are reeling under acute shortage of salt. Although the government provides subsidy on salt to Bajura, Bajhang, Achham and Darchula districts, the Dhangadhi-based Salt Trading Corporation has failed to supply adequate salt to these districts due to fuel crisis.

A large number of locals have been thronging the depots after there were rumours that import of salt from India had halted. It was also being rumoured that the government depots had run out of the stock of salt.

A local Birbhan Bohora of Deulikot Village Development Committee said there were rumours doing the rounds that there would soon be a salt crisis in the country. “All the villagers are thronging the depots after these rumours spread like wildfire,” he added.

Meanwhile, sources at Salt Trading Corporation Regional Office, Dhangadhi said that the corporation had enough stock of salt to last for three months. Assistant Manager of the office Keshab Prasad Pandey said that his office could not supply salt to the hilly districts due to fuel crunch.

“There will be no scarcity of salt in the hilly districts if the state provides us fuel,” he said. Pandey said his office had written to District Adminsitration Office, Kailali to provide it adequate fuel to supply salt to the remote hill districts.

Pandey said they still had 22,000 quintals of subsidized salt meant for distribution in Bajhang, Bajura, Achham and Darchula districts.