Rukum highlanders facing starvation

RUKUM, AUG 11 -
Twelve VDCs situated in the highlands of Rukum district are reeling under food shortage for the past four months.
Sisne, Hukam, Ranmamaikot, Gotamkot, Syalkhadi, Rangsi, Mahat, Kol, Jang and Taksera VDCs are hit hard.
Beset by shortage of food grains, the villagers are sustaining themselves on locally grown potatoes but this stock is also fast depleting.
With no roadway and the only trail fit for only humans and mules rendered impassable by rain, supply of foodstuff to the region has not taken place since May. “For the last four months, the people here are surviving on potatoes,” said Karnasingh Pun of Taksera VDC.
Shopkeepers in nearby marketplaces like Nayagad, Tribeni and Baluwa said they have long run out of rice and other essentials. As the topography of this region is unfit for agriculture, the people here rely on the trade of Yarchagumba (Cordyceps Sinesis) for sustenance. Low collection of Yarchagumba this year has added to the woes of the Rukum highlanders. They said they are cash-strapped and unable to buy foodstuff even if local markets had received supply of food materials.
Prem Naryan Bhandari of Nepal Food Corporation said that around 8500 quintals of rice is needed for the food-hit areas of Rukum.
“We have asked for 7,000 quintals of rice to address the crisis, and we will ensure the supply as soon as the shipment arrives,” he said.
According to the District Food Security Network, 14 VDCs in Rukum are food secure round the year, 17 for six months while 12 mountain VDCs are food insecure for the better part of the year.
Source: The Kathmandu Post