DIPAYAl, August 12

With continuous agitation for the past two weeks in Kailali and Kanchanpur affecting vehicular movement, scarcity of daily essentials has emerged as a major problem in the hilly districts of the far-west region.

Life in Kanchanpur and Kailali, the districts which saw the agitation of the pro-Hindu state agitators first, also witnessed the intact far-west agitation and then came the stir demanding a separate Tharuhat province.

The series of back-to-back general strikes brought the region to a grinding halt for five days.

As the unrest has gained momentum in the Tarai districts of the region, it has hampered the supply of daily commodities to the hilly regions, resulting in supplies crunch.

“As vehicular movement has been halted, the supply of food, vegetables, cooking gas and the likes has been obstructed causing scarcity even in the district headquarters Dipayal,” said hotelier Ganesh Bohara of Dipayal, adding, “The condition can only get worse if they don’t put an end to the strikes.

“Were it the conflict period, traders would stock up goods, but now they don’t, hence the paucity,” said Doti Chamber of Commerce and Industry co-treasurer Dhana Bahadur Shahi.

Among all, vegetable farmers of Dadeldhura have been hit the hardest as their products are bound to rot in the field owing to the halt in transportation.

“Earlier, we would earn by exporting vegetables from here but transportation has come to a standstill and this has left us nowhere. We have to bear the loss as our vegetable rot.,” lamented Dev Bahadur Bhandari, a vegetable trader, adding, “For us neither the intact Far west nor Tharuhat, nor anything else matters. What we want is guarantee of peace that will enable our daily business to flourish.” Like Bhandari, most of the traders here have demanded an end to the culture of bandhs.