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| Kathmandu, Friday December 20, 2002 Paush 05, 2059. |
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NFC to cut food supply to Far
Western Region
By Sameer Ghimire
KATHMANDU, Dec 19:Already distraught by an acute
food shortage, the remote districts of Nepal, especially those in Far Western Development
Region are likely to suffer more, following the decision of Nepal Food Corporation (NFC)
to reduce food supply by more than 2,000 tons this year.
According to an official of the NFC, the public
enterprise responsible for the distribution of food grains throughout the country, the
corporation has decided to distribute 6,400 tons of rice this year as against the supply
of 8,500 tons distributed last year.
The reduction in food supply is made because of
budget constraints, says Sanu Ratna Sthapit, Deputy Managing Director of the Corporation.
"The corporation, which usually suffers from limited budget, has faced additional
problem this time as the government has decided to cut the subsidy by Rs 40 million,"
added Sthapit.
The government had provided a subsidy of Rs 225
million on transportation last year. But despite the increase in the transport fare by 20
to 30 per cent this year as compared to last year, the subsidy is just Rs 185 million this
year.
Sthapit pointing towards the high cost of
transportation, especially those of choppers, said that the corporation might face
difficulty in supplying the targeted food quantity if the transportation cost soars
further. He even expressed his scepticism that the airfare would soar, as many choppers
have been the targets of Maoist attacks in recent times.
The escalating violence has even affected food
transport in those districts connected by roads like Rukum and Jajarkot. Referring to the
Maoist loot of over 780 tons of rice from several warehouses of the corporation in the
past, Sthapit said, "We cannot take the risk of losing our stock by transporting
foodstuff by land to these highly Maoist-affected areas."
Along with the Maoist problems, the quota system
imposed by the security forces has also affected the supply of foodstuff in these areas.
Fearing that the Maoists could loot the foodstuff, the security forces allow only small
quotas of food on weekly basis to the private traders.
Despite the overall reduction in the food
supply, the corporation has assured that the food supply to Karnali zone would not be
affected. Karnali is one of the zones badly affected by famine.
"We are not going to cut even a single
grain to Karnali zone as it is worst affected region because of poverty," Sthapit
said. The corporation has planned to supply 3,230 tons of rice to Karnali zone this year
as usual.
As most of the remote districts were badly
affected by drought in recent times, the low supply of rice could add to the woes of the
local people. The adverse weather has also affected the harvest of rice and millet in
these regions, according to local reports.
Referring to low overall production of paddy
throughout the country this year, Sthapit expressed his concerns over the supply of rice
during April to June. "More pressure from the remote districts will be come during
that period as most of the districts run out of stock at that time," he said.
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