Clashes in city over rumours of salt shortage

Clashes were reported from parts of east, northeast and south Delhi on Friday over rumours of shortage of salt and shopkeepers selling the commodity at exorbitant rates. Panic buying of salt was reported from neighbouring Noida and Ghaziabad over similar rumours.

Over 50 local residents took out a protest march from Jasola to Shaheen Bagh in southeast Delhi on Friday at 9.30pm. They were protesting against shopkeepers who were allegedly selling salt at over ₹100 per kg.

Locals told HT that a bus was stopped on the main road and a scuffle broke out between the bus driver and the protesters.

“The driver manhandled a local. This angered the rest of them and they started pelting stones on the bus. Other vehicles were also vandalised. The police reached the spot soon and brought the situation under control. Some policemen were injured in the incident,” said Parvez Yusuf, a resident of Abul Fazal Enclave.

A senior police officer said, “Force was deployed to disperse the crowd.”

A local grocery store owner in Shaheen Bagh said he did not get supply of salt since Thursday.

“Some people came to buy salt. I told them I had none. They got angry and went away. Next thing I heard was that locals were protesting over salt. The problem is majority of shops in Jasola and Shaheen Bagh have no salt since the currency exchange scheme kicked in,” said Firoz Jamaal, a shopkeeper in Shaheen Bagh.

Scuffles also took place in some east and northeast Delhi areas when shopowners refused to sell salt in bulk. Some were forced to down their shutters.

Rumours about salt prices hitting ₹200-300 per kilogram spread thick and fast in Ghaziabad, Noida and other parts of UP on Friday evening, after which panic stricken residents rushed to buy packets.

The rumours first spread at Dasna and Kaila Bhatta in Ghaziabad. “I sent my son to buy two packets of salt as there were rumors . The local shopkeeper charged ₹30 per packet which he earlier charged ₹18,” said Jannat Khatoon, a Dasna resident.

Two persons were detained at Loni and five others at Khoda late Friday night. “We have instructed police to make announcements in their respective areas. The sub divisional magistrates have been alerted and we will take action against rumour mongers,” said Nidhi Kesarwani, Ghaziabad DM.

Panic buying was also reported in Noida. Rohit Singh, a grocer in Sector 12, said he sold six months of salt supply. Such buying was also reported in Mumbai and Ahmedabad.

The government’s decision to extend the use of old ₹500 and 1,000 notes to pay household utility bills, taxes and fees, buy fuel and make purchases from co-operative stores by another 72 hours to Monday has come as huge relief to the lakhs of people making rounds of banks to exchange or deposit old currency.

Till Friday evening, people were either trying to deposit or exchange old notes or were trying to use them wherever they could as the earlier deadline was to expire on Friday midnight.

Vaishnavi Dhar, 32, a resident of Jangpura, made four