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Gujarat has salt stocks for India to last five months

A whopping stock of 2 million tonnes of salt is available in Gujarat and it will be enough to fulfil the needs of the entire country for the next five months at a consumption rate of nearly 400,000 tonnes a month.

This assurance was given by Gujarat Salt Manufacturers Association president Hiralal Parekh and Gujarat Salt Federation chief Santosh Kamdar to Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel in Gandhinagar on Tuesday.

Criticising the ''false propaganda'' about abnormal price rise of salt at retail level, they said certain vested interests and anti-social elements were creating panic among the people.

They assured Patel that the manufacturers were ready to supply 2 million tonnes of salt at the rate of just Rs 1.50 per kg outside Gujarat and 75 paisa within the state.

Patel termed the rumours leading to panic buying of salt in different parts of the country as a ''political motive'' resorted to by vested interests and urged the ministers concerned to take firm action against such elements.

In Gujarat, the Gujarat Salt Federation has also said it had a stock of two million tonnes and was willing to supply iodised salt at the rate of 75 paise a kg. Tata Salt and several other salt companies have also assured the public of sufficient quantities of the commodity in stock which could be supplied whenever required.

Panic salt buying spread to the city of Baroda with serpentine queues outside shops for the purchase of the essential kitchen item.

About 40,000 kg of salt was sold at the rate of Rs 1.5 in only five hours. Gujarat, which is the largest salt manufacturing state in Asia, on Tuesday witnessed housewives standing in long queues braving the sun with their children to purchase salt, the cheapest of all essential commodities, despite Union industry policy secretary T R Prasad's statement that the country has surplus salt.

Prasad and Union Consumer Affairs Secretary N N Mookerji had took stock of the situation in Delhi early Tuesday.

A wholesale dealer from Panigate said there was a record sale of salt in the history of Baroda.

Meanwhile, Gujarat Salt Industry Minister Fakirbhai Vaghela held discussions with salt manufacturers and Deputy Salt Commissioner R Mohan, besides ministers and officials of other states, including Delhi, and told them there was abundant stock of the commodity in the state.

Vaghela also described the apparent salt shortage as created by some miscreants.

Meanwhile, Gujarat Food and Civil Supplies Minister Jaspal Singh informed reporters that the district authorities had been directed to take action against hoarders of potato, onion and salt. The state was able to meet its demand of 500,000 tonnes per annum of groundnut oil, he added.

UNI

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