There is a shortage of salt in Saipal Rural Municipality of Bajhang. Due to the fact that the Salt Trading Corporation did not arrange timely transportation, the shortage of salt started to appear.

The salt bought in November last year has lasted until now. After the rain, we have been eating from our neighbours,' said Motima Rokaya of Dhuli, the last human settlement in the district, 'It has started snowing. They have not brought salt yet. It seems like you have to eat it all winter.' 

She said that her house needs one kilo of salt every week as the same salt is also needed to be fed to the sheep and cattle raised in large numbers. Other houses are also about to finish. Now where do you even go to ask for pancho?,' she said. 

Since there is no contract even four months after the completion of the contract process, the shortage of salt has started to appear in Saipal. Salt Trading Corporation Limited had already selected the transporter by calling for tenders for the transportation of salt on July 4.

On August 20, 2081, the corporation published a letter of intent for the selected contractor to come to an agreement, but due to non-agreement, the shipping company Deuti Bajai Construction S. Pvt.

Corporation also issued a notice of intent in the newspaper. They also gave a letter to come to make a deal, but when they go to make a deal, they keep delaying what to do," said Topnarayan Chalise of the shipping company Deuti Bajai Construction. How can we start the work if there is no agreement?' He said that the corporation refused to transport the Saipal salt because there was a case before the authority. 

In previous years, Salt Trading Corporation used to transport salt for Saipal every year until November. Salt Trading Corporation Bajhang Depot Chief Nar Bahadur Dhant said that even if the salt transported last year will last until the month of January, if it cannot be transported immediately, the salt shortage will worsen. 

'Last year, 796 quintals of salt were sent to Saipal. It lasts until this month. If the transportation is not done immediately, it seems that the shortage will increase from January," he said. If it snows, it can be transported only in March. In that case, there may be more problems.' He also said that he did not know anything about the reason for not having an agreement on salt transportation. 

Salt Trading has allocated a quota of 900 quintals of salt for this year's Saipal. Chairman of Saipal Rural Municipality, Manvir Bohra, said that the contract for subsidized transportation under the gonorrhoea control program has been accepted for 47 lakh 18 thousand 718 rupees.

The contractor says that the contract has not been reached before shipping faster. He says that there is a case in salt trading. What is the issue? They don't even say that,' he said, 'No matter what happened, we had to eat salt!' 

Until 2073, the residents of Saipal had to pay up to 250 rupees per kg to buy salt. On October 12, 2073, a news was published under the title 'Salt as expensive as gold' that the residents of Saipal had to buy the salt which was given by the state at the rate of nine rupees per kg as a transportation subsidy to the locals of Bajhang.