By A Staff Reporter
Kathmandu, Sept. 13: Chairman of Board of Directors of Salt Trading Corporation (STC) Laxmi Das Manandhar said that the Corporation was committed to facilitate the supply of daily essential goods in the market following the instruction of the government.
Addressing the 59th anniversary of the STC Sunday, he said that the Corporation had been trying to provide service to the doorsteps of the general consumers by expanding the service and work area as per the spirit of the government of Nepal.

The STC had supplied goods by the mobile vans in different places of Kathmandu Valley during the lockdown and prohibitory period imposed due to COVID-19 pandemic.
Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies Prem Kumar Shrestha appreciated the role of STC to ease the supply of essential goods and control artificial price hike of goods in the market.
“The Corporation that was established almost 58 years ago with a view to ensure the supply of salt across the country has reached in a stage of selling daily essential goods with the instruction of government which is appreciated,” he said.

For the first time in Nepal, the Corporation, established in public-private partnership on September 12, 1963, has been selling daily necessities like pulses, rice, salt, flour, sugar, spices, edible oil, gas, chemical fertiliser and wheat seeds, among others.

"The Ministry has emphasised that there is no need for private sector involvement in the sale and distribution of salt. The role and work of STC in the sale and distribution of salt is appropriate,” Shrestha said.
The government has so far given the responsibility of selling and distributing salt only to the Corporation.
Urmila Shrestha, Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation, said that the Corporation was vigilant to prevent the shortage of daily necessities.

She informed that the essential items were easily distributed to the households by reaching at their doors as per their demand even during the COVID-19 pandemic.
She expressed her commitment that they would intensify their work to ease the supply system as per the needs of consumers in the days ahead.
She said that the STC was also playing a role to solve the problem of chemical fertilisers, fulfilling the responsibilities given by the government.
The STC is selling subsidised and non-subsidised chemical fertilisers to farmers aiming to contribute in the development of agriculture and country’s economy as well, she said.
The government has allowed STC to import chemical fertilisers and to distribute among farmers at subsidised rate.

On the occasion, the 'Child Welfare Award' of 2077 BS and 2078 BS was given to Our Home Hetauda, Makwanpur and Renewal Orphan Helpless Child Upliftment Society Dhapakhel, Lalitpur respectively. The award carries a purse of Rs. 75,000.
Similarly, Jugnu Bhattachan, Sujan Maharjan, Bam Bahadur Basnet and Samjhana Shrestha, Nirmal Tamang and Kul Prasad Rijal were awarded with the Hem Bahadur Malla Outstanding Service Award in 2077 BS. The prize carries a purse of Rs 30,000.

Krishna Kumar Khadka, Santosh Sigdel and Narayan Prasad Poudel were honoured with Ishwar Lal Shrestha Outstanding Service Award 2077 BS while Ishwar Lal Shrestha Outstanding Service Award 2078 BS was given to Prajwalman Pradhan, Chandra Dutta Dhakal and Hariram Rokka. The purse of the award is Rs. 35,000.