NAGAPATTINAM: Amid challenges brought in by the Covid-19 pandemic and the rains, the 1,500-odd small-scale salt producers at Vedaranyam block in the district are marking what is the end of a “modest” production season for the year.
Having started in late February, the small-scale producers extracting salt over an area of 3000 acres in villages such as Agasthiyampalli, Kodiyakadu, Kailavanampettai, Kadinalvayal and Kodiyakarai in Vedaranyam block have wound up production ahead of the onset of the northeast monsoon in the State.
The producers will now focus on exporting their remaining stock before the natural calamity period of November to December. The remaining salt heaps are covered and wrapped for the gradual process of export amid rain spells.
M Gnanaprakasam, a small-scale salt producer of Aadhanur, said, "I managed to export around 150 tonnes [of salt] from about two acres. I am content with the modest season, considering the odds being stacked against us this year. We will export the remaining stock and then will look forward to another decent year."
Some salt producers, however, expressed concern about the decrease in productivity compared to previous years despite them stating it to have been a typical season. They believe the impact to be due to change in geographical and climatic conditions. "The fertility in my salterns is slightly concerning. I could not extract salt as I had hoped from my 50 acres of salterns,” said P Ambikadas, a salt producer from Agasthiyampalli.
During the period of April to May, when the second wave of Covid-19 began to witness a surge, salt producers were left to stare into oblivion. After the district administration allowed production to take place with compliance to lockdown guidelines, the producers went on to continue it, except when they were interrupted by frequent rains. "Some of us lost about 40% of productivity due to the interruptions. It was not a great season, but a modest one," said P Dhanyakumar, a small-scale salt producer from Agasthiyampalli.
The end of production also means a gradual stop to employment opportunities for thousands of salt workers earning their daily wages from involving in water administration, water transfer, furrow building, salt wiping, collecting, heaping, dumping, and vehicle loading operations.
K Nagarajan, a salt worker from Vedaranyam, said, "Work in the next two months would be about loading the salt onto vehicles. Following that, some of us toil in paddy fields around Vedaranyam to survive till next February."