Goods worth about Rs 80 million offered in grant
BAGLUNG, Nov 19: Although Nepal's southern neighbor India continues to torment the country by imposing a trade blockade, China has provided large amount of food items and construction materials on grant to ease the hardship in Mustang district.
The grant items entered the country through Korala transit point and reached upper Mustang on Wednesday.
The current grant is a drastic increase in the annual grant provided by the Chinese government to the adjoining mountainous districts of the country. Even the local government officials have expressed astonishment at such a large number of commodities provided in grant by the Chinese government.
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According to District Development Committee (DDC), Mustang, they had requested 1,200 sacks of construction materials and food materials for six Village Development Committees of the district. In response, the government of China sent 7,800 sacks, including food items and cement.
“We received more sacks of cement than we had asked for. We are quite surprised by the Chinese generosity,” said Jeevan Gyawali, the planning officer at the DDC.
Along with cements, the Chinese government also handed over 8,000 sheers of ply woods, 15,000 corrugated sheets, 25,000 kg peas, 30,000 kg soybeans and 500 solar panels.
Those grant items are meant for Choser, Chonup, Lo Manthang, Charang, Surkhang, and Ghami VDCs of upper Mustang.
“Although we had never asked for construction materials in the past, we sought them out this year for reconstruction,” informed Local Development Officer (LDO) Hari Prashad Bastola.
China had sent materials worth around Rs 3 million in grant last year.
The grant this year amounts to Rs 80 million, according to Bastola, which he said comes as a great relief amid the shortage of goods created by the ongoing trade blockade imposed by India.
“We need to know why China sent grants exceeding the demand. If the goods exceed the demand, they should be accepted only after securing permission from the Ministry of Local Development,” said Ganesh Bahadur Adhikari, Chief District Officer (CDO) of Mustang. “We will conduct studies and learn the reason.”
Along with Mustang, the Chinese government frequently supplies commodities to Darchula, Humla, Mugu, Gorkha, Rasuwa, Dailekh, Sindhupalchowk, Sankhuwasabha and other mountainous districts in grants. The grants are being provided as per the agreement between the Chinese government and the Ministry of Local Development
