Hill people go hungry as politicians talk in Kathmandu
Kathmandu (AsiaNews) Thousands of people are experiencing the pangs of hunger in some parts of Nepal, whilst politicians are hammering out the roadmap for the country's reborn democracy.
"Every politician, including the Maoists who virtually rule the mid-western Karnali region of the country, is focused on recovering power from the monarch. But none is bothered that thousands of their fellow countrymen, mainly Tribals, are on the verge of being swallowed by hunger," said Sushil Sashank, a tribal culture expert. "It is an irony that all these politicians shamelessly vowed to work for the welfare of these very people."
"There is a severe food shortage in the Karnali area because of incessant drought that has brutally wiped out the grain production," said Devi Lal Thapa, a local MP. The lawmaker has called on various international organisations like the World Food Program (WFP) to intervene.
According to Jean-Pierre de Margerie, officer-in-charge of WFP-Nepal, "the information that we collected over the last two months shows that the situation is critical there. This made us realise the necessity to launch an emergency supply operation."
The WFP official stressed that this winter the region faced its worst drought in 30 years. "This time, the production of winter crops is projected to fall by 75 to 100 percent".
The Nepal Food Corporation (NFC) is already on the ground bringing relief, but "the demand for extra food is in so high that we need additional [money]," NFC acting general manager Khel Bahadur Shrestha said.
To make matters worse, most of their rural food depots have become dysfunctional as a result of the Maoist insurgency. And "it is extremely challenging to supply food in these areas due to inaccessibility and limitation of transportation facility. This will make us unable to run emergency operation in a big way," the AFP's de Margerie said.
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04/01/2008
