Humla faces shortage of subsidised rice
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HUMLA, AUG 30 -
The Humla branch office of the Nepal Food Corporation (NFC) is reeling under a shortage of subsidised rice after a contractor failed to ensure food supplies. The district faces a perennial shortage of food, making it increasingly difficult for local residents to eke out a living.
Out of a total 2,900 quintals of rice allocated for the NFC Humla office last fiscal year, the district depot has only received 1,450 quintals so far. According to an agreement with contractor Chaurel Nirman Sewa Kumarigal of Kathmandu on November 1 last year, the last date to make the supply was mid-January. However, despite an extension of the first deadline, the supply has yet to be made.
The Kathmandu-based central office of the NFC has 1,450 quintals of subsidised rice allocated for the district. Branch office chief Prem Kumar Thakur said that although food hasn’t been supplied, the contractor has already received funds for 660 quintals of the remaining allocated rice .
However, instead of taking action against the contractor, the central office extended the supply date once again without consulting the District Food Management Committee, the District Administration Office and the branch office.
“The central office took this decision by breaching regulations.” He said that the office godown has only 40 quintals of subsidised rice in stock and to make matters worse, the government has not yet allocated a quota of subsidised rice for the district this fiscal year.
Thakur said that the government had directed a supply of subsidised rice from the Nepalgunj and Surkhet godowns to temporarily address the shortage. Food shortage has become almost a perennial problem in some mid-western and far-western districts. Some donor agencies, including WFP and JICA, provide food aid to these districts through the NFC.
Posted on: 2012-08-30 08:32
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