Why Compulsory Iodization of Salt?

Dear Colleagues,  Pervin, Chander Uday Singh, Dr Anand, Dr Bal,

Pervin intimated for the first time yesterday the name of the officer designated in the Notification with an address in New Delhi. So it appears that the notification is from the Government of India and not from the Govt of Maharashtra as many concerned citizens including myself were under the impression.

This changes the situation totally. It means that consumption of common salt manufactured by simple fishermen and poor people staying near salty water bodies will be banned if the GOI makes a rule, under undisclosed and innocent looking law of this country following  this GOI notification. The threat to the people of this country and more specifically the poor and downtrodden is multiplied `n’ times.

From whatever Pervin had been referring uptil the day before, concerned citizens including myself had thought that the Govt of Maharashtra had issued the notification for banning non-iodised salt in Maharashtra. We shall have to take up the people’s movement at the national level involving every citizen of this country.  It will have to be on the lines of Mahatma Gandhi’s Dandi March undertaken 75 years ago.  The British remained under restraint and would not take any step that would affect their rule in India.

Governments that came after Independence have proved themselves to be unconcerned about the people and mainly against the peple and especially rhe poor and downtrodden. The proposed govt move will affect these people the most. For a large section of our people, `bhakhar and a pinch of salt, sometime a onion is the only survival food. They will be denied veen the most frugal food.

It is wellknown htat big business backed by the WHO was forcing hte govt ot ban all non-iodised salt because it is big really gian business. The Govt at Delhi is bent on bringing this ban hence it has tried to promote iodised salt. The Director General Health for a long time stated taken a stand that Indians are `duds’ because they were not getting the minimum quatity of iodine and are suffering from Iodine Deficiency Dieases (IDD).

In fact, common salt does have some quantity of organic iodine. People were consuming lots of leafy vegetables, which contain sufficient quantiy of iodina.  Habits have changed and we have gone over ot fast foods devoid of ingradients and trace elecments required for perfect health. The big business have capitalised on this aspect that Indian do bot get minimum quanity of iodine. The big business obtains supplies of common salt to produce iodised salt. Wholesale pricve of common salt is Rs 80 a quintal that is 80 paisa a kg. Adding the cmpound for iodising costs a few paisa.

Against this, the iodised salt makers kept an introduction price of of  Rs 7 a kg int the beginning. Current price is between  Rs 8 to 10. Sheer strangulating and squeezing the people.

Unless we take up the movement on the size and extent of Salt Satyagrah in the Diamond Jubilee Year of Gandhiji’s Dandi March  the people will be forced to pay any fabulous price that the iodised salt convertors charge or go without salt, the primary source of iodine required to maintain health.

I have indicated a strategy earlier to oppose the move by representing on the notification under scanty and incomplete information. That has become redundant now. We must oppose nationally and on a scale bigger than Salt Satygrah because our govts have proved themselves to be anti-people.

Best wishes
Kisan Mehta and Priya Salvi
Save Bombay Committee and Prakruti
620, Jame Jamshed Road,
Dadar East, Mumbai – 400 014.
Tel:  – 091 22 2414 9688
Mobile – 92234 48857
Mail: kisansbc@vsnl.com