Balasore: A four-member team of the National Co-Operative Development Corporation (NCDC) recently visited Bolanga in Baliapal block to revive salt farming there.

The expert team - headed by NCDC managing director Sandip Nayak - held discussions with farmers involved in the industry as well as the district administration officials, including the manager of district industries centre and the local tehsildar on how to revive salt farming here.

Nayak urged the district administration to prepare a detailed project report considering all aspects - such as finance, marketing etc - that need to be looked into to revive the industry. The report will be submitted to the ministry of agriculture under which the NCDC functions.

District collector Ramesh Chandra Rout said that he had convened a meeting of farmers, stakeholders and other officials on the issue on March12. "A meeting has been convened on the issue on March 12 for having a detailed discussion. Besides farmers and stakeholders, representatives of the NCDC will be present in the meeting," said Rout.

"The district administration had urged to the ministry to revive the defunct industry," he said.

Natural edible salt used to be extracted from the sea coast by villagers of Bolanga since the Raj era. The local farmers had also extracted salt during the Salt Movement of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.

About 500 families had been eking out their livelihood here by extracting salt for years. The state government had provided then nearly 300 acres on lease for the purpose and they were producing around 300 metric tonnes of salt a year . They were marketing their produce through a cooperative society from 1970 till 1996. The reason for collapse of the cottage industry were many, but introduction of iodised salt in the market and the government making it mandatory for edible salt were the prime factors. Besides, seawater couldn't enter the channels got filled because of non-dredging. For the last three years, the salt industry has become completely defunct .

"According to the official record, salt farming while was done on 327 acres, 430 families were in the profession and were under a registered society," said additional district magistrate Manas Padhi .

"Non-dredging of channels is one of the prime reason for collapse of this industry. The natural salt which they were producing were mainly consumed by the prawn hatcheries. Later, when the government imposed restrictions on non-iodised salt, it dealt a more lethal blow to the industry. Once revived, the natural and pure salt would be marketed as edible one after packaging as natural salt doesn't require iodine," he said.