BSS-57 Rumour over salt overnight befooled many

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BSS-57

RUMOURS-SALT

Rumour over salt overnight befooled many

DHAKA, Nov 20, 2019 (BSS) – A machination of rumour that the country is exposed to a salt crisis visibly befooled many overnight after the panic-seeming people rushed to groceries to buy the essential cooking ingredient prompting some shoppers to make brisk businesses spiraling its price for few hours.

The rumour suspected to be spread by vested quarters created panic among many people in the capital and elsewhere in the country who feared if they could not stock more than usual quantity of salt in their kitchens, the item could disappear from the market.

The runour, however, mismatched with the ground reality quickly but before the vested quarters’ trap thwarted many nearly emptied their pockets, preferring to follow the “go-and-stock” policy until the officials and salt producers said the current salt stock was far more than the country’s demand.

“I got befooled by buying salt with extra price. In a hurry, I bought 10 kilogrammes of salt paying additional Taka 10 in per kg of salt. I thought that salt price may rise like the onion price and that’s why I bought salt to store the commodity,” said Rajib Hasan, a resident of the city’s Paltan area.

“But I understand lately that salt price hike was a mere remour,” he added.

“The salt producers are lobbying to get permission to export salt because of the additional production and stocks of the item,” Industries Secretary Abdul Halim told BSS.

He said six times of salt against the country’s total demand are now stored in the country and the salt producers are getting stuck in selling their products and that is why they have been lobbying with the government to get permission to export salt.

The industries secretary added: “Those, who spent an extra amount of Taka 5 to buy per kg salt, lost Taka 5 per kg and those who spent Taka 20 for per kg salt, the amount visibly went into water.”

He said the authorities concerned are taking actions against those involved in spreading rumour over salt price hike.

Police today conducted a drive in a village of Trishal upazila in Mymensingh and seized 7,000 kg of salt stored illegally in a godown.

BSS/ASG/RI/MRI/AR/KU/2100 HRS