DHARWAD: Members of various organisations, led by freedom fighters Narasimha Dabade, H.S. Doreswamy and others, took out a jatha and held a public meeting here on Friday in protest against the Union Government's move to ban use and sale of common salt.

The jatha began from the office Gandhi Peace Foundation here and passed through the thoroughfares of the city reached the Deputy Commissioner's office.

They submitted a memorandum urging the Union Government to revoke its order dated May 17, which banned use and sale of common salt and ordered that only iodised salt should be used. C.M. Noormansur, Headquarters Assistant to the Deputy Commissioner received the memorandum from them.

The protestors said that the number of people suffering from deficiency of iodine in the country was only two per cent. In spite of that the Government had issued such an order prohibiting sale and use of common salt, they said.

The impact of the government order would be on the 20,000 families of farmers who manufacture and sell common salt. The order is going to benefit only the big companies in the country that are producing iodised salt. The order is also going to result in the hike of salt prices and additional consumption of iodine daily is supposed to lead to many maladies also, they said.

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