Some 9,000 people living in those VDCs are compelled to feed on tubers and wild roots due to shortage of food. The problem has mostly hit Samagaun, Lho, Proka, Bihi, Chhekampar, Chumset and Sirdibas VDCs, according to Nepal Food Corporation (NFC).
District Food Management Committee in August had requested the Supplies Ministry and NFC to deliver food to the district as soon as possible, warning of looming crisis during the the Dashain festival. The committee had demanded 25 tons food for immediate distribution.
However, NFC officials said they could not fulfill the request due to problems they faced in transporting food due to rainfall and damages of hilly trails.
“Monsoon prevented us from delivering the much-needed food on time,” said Khageshwar Sharma, chief of NFC, Gorkha. The NFC has an option of delivering food via helicopter, but Sharma said the cost is beyond the budget of his office.
In the absence of other alternatives, locals argued that chartering helicopter is the only way to deliver food before Dashain and bail the people out of possible danger. “Delivery of 250 quintal of rice would have deferred the crisis during the festive season,” Sharma said, adding that chance of doing so is very slim because of budget constraint.
Going by the existing efforts of the NFC, it seems that it will only be able to transport food (via land route) after Dashain and Tihar.
NFC has been distributing food in those seven VDCs through its depot located in Sirdibas. But Sirdibas depot has not received fresh supplies since three months. The food shortage was further aggravated by the fact that the locals are not allowed to import food items from Tibetan markets across the border.
Remote northern VDCs of Gorkha are always food deficient, but the crisis hit them much earlier than anticipated this year. The major farm productions of the VDCs are maize, barley, buck wheat, potato and millet. However, their yields sharply went down this year due to sparse winter rain. It takes around five days to reach those crisis-hit districts on foot. The closest of the seven VDCs, Sirdibas, also takes three days of walking.
Presently, NFC spends Rs 2,750 for transportation of a quintal of rice via mule. If it is to hire helicopter, it will need to pay at least Rs 20,000 for delivering the same quantity of rice. “This will end our entire budget at a go. We cannot take such decision," Sharma clarified.
The NFC needs to transport foods regularly because its warehouses in the VDCs are small and cannot store enough food. Besides, there also exists the problem of looting.
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