Residents spend 2,500 rupees to buy 9-rupee salt

KATHMANDU: Citizens of Tumch, Sarkegad Rural Municipality-1, face significant expenses to purchase subsidized salt.

They are spending up to 2,500 rupees for the salt provided through subsidies.

The distribution depot is located far from the village, forcing residents to pay high transportation fees to collect the salt.

Resident Ramsharan Rawat mentioned that just the journey to and from the depot costs this amount.

Recently, the Salt Trading Corporation Limited incurred large costs to provide salt at the Sarkegad depot. Rawat added, “The municipal center is far from the village, and to collect the subsidized salt, we need to spend 2,500 rupees.”

Resident Ratan Rawat explained that a journey that would normally take one day on foot now costs 2,500 rupees by vehicle. With the depot being located in Sarkegad, the distribution system affects around 95 households in Tumch.

He pointed out that the central depot distribution causes significant inconvenience.

The rural municipality’s remoteness also leads to citizens being deprived of other services, as they must walk three hours to reach the ward office, which is located in Jair. “We have to walk uphill for three hours to obtain various documents,” added Rawat.

Citizens from Tumch suggested that salt could be distributed from the Balukuna region instead of Sarke Gad, which would save both time and money.

Rajbahadur Lama, the head of the Salt Trading Corporation’s Humla branch, explained that the distribution system was designed to make it more accessible to the four southern rural municipalities.

Lama acknowledged that on a few occasions, salt had been distributed directly to Tumch from Balukuna to address the issue.

He also noted that an agreement had been made to deliver salt from Sarkegad to Chankheli, and to Adanchuli and Tanjkot, with the distribution reaching up to Srinagar in Adanchuli.

A total of 1,800 quintals of salt will be distributed to these four municipalities in the current fiscal year.

Sarkegad will receive 500 quintals, Chankheli 400, Adanchuli 500, and Tanjkot 400 quintals.

Salt distribution is currently underway in the southern region.