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With the rumour of an imminent salt crisis and ensuing panic-buying spreading to Assam as well, the Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi today said it was the work of “some vested circles” to “create law and order situation.” He said there was not such scarcity of salt in the state and “therefore there is no need for the people to panic.”
It is learnt that the salt-crisis rumour spread to Assam from Bihar yesterday evening. Many panic-stricken people from hindi-speaking localities in Guwahati were seen buying salt at exorbitant prices since last evening.
The rumour today further spread to other North-Eastern states, and the most affected was Meghalaya. There too the state government went on a damage-control mode and requested people not to fall prey to rumours and that the state had sufficient stock of salt. Sources said many retail shops in Guwahati and Shillong ran out of salt stock by today due to panic-buying.
Gogoi appealed to people not to go for panic-buying of salt “as there is no scarcity at all’.
