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Food shortage has Mugu by the short hairs
MUGU/JAJARKOT, AUG 24 -
Hunger pangs have hit nearly 25,000 people of Mugu as 14 VDCs of the district are reeling under acute food shortage.
The inability of Nepal Food Corporation (NFC) to deliver subsidised food to the district has been blamed for the food shortage.
“Even the foodstuff provided by the World Food Programme (WFP) could not be transported, which made the situation go from bad to worse,” said Ananda Rokaya of District Food Security Monitoring Network.
Food production in the VDCs like Bhi, Jima, Srikot, Hyanglu, Dolfu and Seri declined by as much as 80 percent this year due to heavy rainfall and hailstorm, much to chagrin of villagers.
Locals say they are having tough time with very little to eat. Nanda Bir Nepali of Photu VDC-5 said his family is living on the two sacks of rice provided by the WFP. “I don’t know how my family would survive once this ration runs out,” he said. “It takes four days to reach the Food Corporation’s depot and in return it only provides 5 kg rice at a single time.”
Meanwhile, some parts in Jajarkot district are also facing food crisis as the crop production dwindled severely this year due to a long dry spell. Daha, Majkot, Kortang, Gharkhakot, Pajaru and Suwanauli VDCs are hard hit.
Continious rainfall has rendered roads inoperable at several places, thus making food supply to the VDCs nearly impossible.
“Some of the villagers are compelled to survive on wild roots and fruits due to lack of food,” said Khim Bahadur Magar of Majakot-7, who has arrived in the district headquarters, Khalanga, in search of foodstuff.
Posted on: 2010-08-25 08:12
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