Gujarat - saltmaking

The scientific name for salt is Sodium Chloride (NaCl) and it occurs in the form of transparent cubic crystals. Salt can be removed from rock salt and brine. In India, salt is obtained from brine.

Water containing a high concentration of salt is called brine. Therefore, the most common source of brine is ocean water. Other than ocean water, brine is also found in salty lakes such as the Dead Sea.

Agariyas in the Raan of Kutch manufacture for us a commodity we call common salt. They survive in an extremely difficult terrain in the blistering sun. So far away from the entire process, what we do not see is the hard work and labour that these Agariyas put into making this commodity that is such a basic one. They produce it in conditions that are almost inhuman as there is no electricity, no source of drinking water and no shade to sit under when their bodies collapse of tiredness. The most terrible part about this is that they get only 7 paise per kilogram of salt, which is probably one hundredth of the price that we pay.

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