Over one lakh tonnes of salt washed away in Vedaranyam

Over one lakh tonnes of salt kept in the open by 700 small-scale manufacturers in Vedaranyam has been washed away by Gaja cyclone. The average value of salt is around ₹ 1,000 a tonne.

Apart from loss of stocks, the manufacturers stare at more loss on account of inundation of pans spread over 3000 to 4000 acres by slush causing extensive damage to inner roads, brine pits, oil engines and pump sets. There are scores of dead fishes and birds in the slush, which could be removed only through a chemical process, they say.

Small manufacturers who support as many as 10,000 families in and around Vedaranyam are not certain if they will be in a position to start salt production from January before the onset of next summer season.

“The destruction caused by the cyclone is heavier than the loss we suffered when Tsunami struck in 2004. The impact of the cyclone has been severe. A device in one of the salt industries run by a corporate in Vedaranyam has recorded a maximum wind speed of 184 km an hour. Setting right the salt pans will cost at least ₹ 1 lakh an acre. The traditional salt manufacturers who have no other source of income have been crippled,” A. Vedaratnam, president, Vedaranyam Salt Manufacturers and Merchants Association, said.

Mr. Vedaratnam, who is the grandson of Sardar Vedaratnam, famous salt satyagrahi, sai that salt being an essential commodity, absence of initiative by the Centre and the State government to revive production could lead to shortage of supplies in the domestic market.

The salt manufacturers, who faced a similar situation after tsunami struck the coast, could revive production only after compensation was provided by the Centre and the State government. Even after reviving the industry, it has been a rough sail for the manufacturers in Vedaranyam as they have not been able to compete with their counterparts in Gujarat where the government extends subsidies for diesel and power.

Mr. Vedaratnam, who is also a former member of the Central Advisory Board on Salt, said the manufacturers who are in misery need to be compensated without loss of time so that the pans could be readied before the next production season.