Mugu villages reeling under food shortage

Kathmandu: The Sorukot depot at Soru Rural Municipality in the district is running short of subsidized rice, affecting local people. The quota of subsidized rice for the depot is 1,500 quintals annually.

The stock depletes as soon as the supply is made, said Singha Rokaya, the office assistant. 'A tractor of subsidized rice from the Food Management and Trading Limited in Gamgadhi emptied as soon as the consignment reached the rural municipality. As a result, there will not be a stock of rice at the depot,' he said.

According to him, 50 to 100 quintals of rice have been sold a day. 'As a result, the available rice has been shared among customers limiting the quantity of their demand,' he said.

The demand increases particularly for one month every year when winter crops deplete from mid-March to mid-May and the harvest of wheat and barley is yet to begin, he said. The annual quota of subsidized rice for the depot is small, said the Company Chief Pushkar Bham, adding that they had demanded the increment of the quota from the coming fiscal year, 2023/24.

'People of surrounding villages, Bhie, Natharpu, Jima, Sipa, Photu, and Ner also reached the depot for rice due to a lack of food items,' he said. Flooding and landslips on October 5-9, 2022 destroyed the farmer's crops adding to the food shortage, he said.

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