BERHAMPUR: With salt production coming to a standstill in Ganjam district, 70 per cent of over 20,000 families which depended on it for their livelihood have migrated to other States in search of work.
Sources said over 550-acre land which was under salt cultivation is lying idle for the last five years. Salt workers from Binchanapalli, Barpalli, Niladripur, Kantiagada, Khataguda, Humma, Mayurpada, Gokharkuda, Sujanpur, Palibandha and Kalajamuna villages have migrated to Tamil Nadu to work as labourers, said Surath Pahan, a salt cultivator.
Odisha produces 3,135 tonne salt against an annual requirement of 6.7 lakh tonne including 4.50 lakh tonne for industries. The district, with its salt-producing centres at Sorala, Subani, Humma, Ganjam and Rambha contributed around 90 per cent of the State’s production. Out of around 5,143 acre land under salt cultivation in the State, the operational area of 3,035 acres is under the Union Government’s Salt Board.
Ganjam district has around 60 per cent of the operational land and the Salt Board authorities lease out the land for 20 years. The last lease auction was held in 2011 but cultivation was not taken up by the lessees. Though Salt Board authorities and the lessees usually reach an agreement before production, both the parties did not agree on the formula on wages and this is stated to be one of the reasons the production came to a halt.
Of the 730 acre land available with Humma Binchanapalli Salt Production and Sales Cooperative (HBSPSC), the Union Government cancelled the lease of 123 acre in 2014. HBSPSC, registered on June 27, 1942, started production in 1946. The society started with 68 workers. The people of the district, inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s Salt Satyagraha wanted to start a salt workers’ cooperative society. Philanthropist and social worker Late T Venkatakrishnayya took the initiative and started the cooperative society in Ganjam-Humma area. Pahan said it is high time the Government intervened to revive salt cultivation in the district as it will not only benefit workers but also augment the economy of the district.