Famine in 11 Bajura VDCs

DHANGADI, July 19:  “Either give us food or poison,” said Laxmi Rokaya of Jagannath-8 summing up the mood of villagers here who do not have enough to eat and whose fields are barren due to drought.



“And there is no place where we can buy food,” he said, adding, “How will we raise our kids? How will we survive?”[break]



A week ago, about 60 women reached the District Administration Office (DAO) walking for two days, and communicated their plight to the chief district officer (CDO).



According to CDO Yogendra Pandey, food crisis has gripped 11 VDCs in the district. He added that inability to supply food to the VDCs would lead to a full-fledged famine.



The drought this year wasted more than half of the paddy saplings in the VDCs.



The food crisis has affected Bichya, Kolti, Jagannath, Goti, Sappata, Jukot, Wai, Rogin, Badhu, Kotila and Pandusen VDCs.



Jagat Kunwar, the chief of Nepal Food Corporation´s Kolti depot, said the depot has been unable to distribute rice due to scarcity.



“The depot has just 500 quintals of rice left,” he said. If the depot starts distribution, about 5,000 people will stand on queues, and the depot would need at least 4,000 quintals to make sure no body returns empty-handed, according to Kunwar. “The higher authorities have been informed about the situation,” he added.



CDO Pandey said the problem arose after sufficient food quotas were not allotted to the VDCs.



During monsoon, procuring food supplies by air is the only option, as roads are inoperable. The CDO, who is also the chairman of the District Food Management Committee, has called a meeting for Tuesday, after which Nepal Food Corporation and Supplies Ministry will be informed about the situation in writing.

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