Hopes of salt producers of Humma in Ganjam district

BERHAMPUR: Harsh summer without rainfall has rekindled hopes of good harvest for the salt producers of Ganjam district. Several months of dry weather without rainfall has given a fillip to salt production. Although Orissa has a long coastline, the salt production is quite low in the State. Major salt farms are operational in Humma near Berhampur city in Ganjam district. K. Duryodhan Reddy, president of HBSPSCS, said this year they hoped to have a total production of around 40,000 tons of salt from the beds near Humma. Salt production in organized way is not new to this area. The HBSPSCS was formed in 1942. Apart from it salt beds in this area are also under private lease of persons and firms who operate from outside through agents.
The salt producers of the area are however not satisfied with their salt production. They feel it could have increased more this year due to conducive climatic condition. Mr Reddy alleged that the flow of salt water to the salt beds of Huma area through the channel of British era had got reduced during recent times. According to him the flow of salt water from the Chilika lake to the salt beds has got reduced due to deepening of the Chilika canal recently. More water is flowing into the Chilika canals rather than entering the channel directed towards the salt beds.
To study the problem a joint team of Chilika Development Authority (CDA) officials, Ganjam district officials and representatives of salt producers would make a field study on May 13. This study may lead to some measures so that more salt water flows through the channel to the salt beds for salt production. Orissa consumes more than four lakh tons of salt in a year. Jayashree Chemicals, soda-making unit in Ganjam needs 50,000 tons of salt every year. Mr Reddy said long coastal stretch of Orissa has the scope of becoming self-sufficient in salt production. But the salt workers are yet to be trained to adopt scientific method of salt production, which includes use of sub-soil saline water from sea.

The Hindu