BERHAMPUR: Two students of Saraswati Vidya Mandir, Neelakantha Nagar have come up with a plan to revive the century-old salt industry of Ganjam district, which is on the brink of extinction.
Suraj Kumar Mishra and BS Pratik, students of Class IX of the student, in their science project, 'Ganjamra Dhabala Suna' (the white gold of Ganjam) have suggested that farmers can produce iodised salt by using indigenous methods and effective brine management.
They argued that the salt farmers can mix the brine with lime to clear the mud. The quantity of magnesium can be further reduced with application of soda ash. Potassium iodate can be sprayed on the brine when it further dries up. The vaporization process can be further checked with the application of sulphuric acid which would enable the farmers to maintain adequate iodine quantity in the salt. The process would entail production cost of only Rs 8 per quintal.
They said non-iodised salt can be used in production of soap, detergent, coconut farming and chemical industries. “This would help revive the industry and prevent migration of salt farmers from the district to other States in search of jobs,” the students said.
Iodization of salt was made compulsory in 1994 in view of widespread prevalence of iodine deficiency disorders (IDD) in the country. Success in reducing IDD after salt iodization prompted Odisha to ban non-iodized salt in 1995.
Following this, salt cooperative societies expressed their inability to produce iodised salt as it involved huge investment. The practice of primitive methods and absence of technical know-how to maintain brine density in common reservoir subsequently affected salt manufacturing in the district.
The Humma Salt Production and Sale Cooperative Society in the district was registered on June 27, 1942. The society started production of salt in 1946 with 68 workers. It later provided livelihood to thousands of salt farmers and their family members. However, the society is on the verge of closure owing to ban on non-iodised salt.
Suraj and Pratik will participate in the 5-day national science project competition for children to be held at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala from December 27.
They were guided in preparing the project by assistant-head master Jateswar Kar and science teacher of the premier institute Bahan Kumar Maharana. The project was conceived by retired science teacher and treasurer of the management committee of Saraswati Vidya Mandir Rabindranath Jena.