Salt Shortage May Occur in Several Parts of Country Due to Unavailability of Train Rakes
Nearly eight lakh tonnes of salt is piling due to unavailability of train rakes to transport it across the country.
New Delhi, July 8: Several parts of the country will soon face shortage of edible salt as a huge stock of the most essentialĀ kitchen commodity has piled up in Gandhidham in Kutch. Nearly eight lakh tonnes of salt is pilingĀ due to unavailability of train rakes to transport it across the country.
The train rakes are unavailable becauseĀ most of the rakes have been prioritized towards clearingĀ fertilizer from Kandla, Mundra and Tuna ports in Kutch, said a report.Ā Trains are used to send the salt packed in the packets of one kg each in various parts of the country.
Kharaghoda, Halvad and Santalpur where salt is made in significant quantity are also facing train rake shortage. āWe need at least five rakes daily but we are getting only -3 which is grossly insufficient looking at huge piled up stock,ā Bachhu Ahir, president, Gujarat Salt Refinery Association toldĀ TOI.
āIf this situation continues, scarcity of salt in the country is imminent," Ahir warned. Due to problems in transporting the salt, severalĀ salt manufacturers haveĀ reducedĀ production. According toĀ Gandhidham area manager of Western Railways, Adish Pathania, only two rakes are being provided daily to manufacturers.
"This year, demand for fertilizer is more and thereforeĀ sufficient numbers of rakes have not been allotted for saltĀ loading. There is 8-10% reduction in rakes compared to last year. This is the sowing season and 17 lakh tonnes fertilizerĀ is lying at the three ports and IFFCO which needs to transported across the country,"Ā Pathania was quoted as saying.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 08, 2018 12:00 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
