KATHMANDU: Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Parliament directed the government to stock sufficient food supplies for earthquake-affected regions for at least three months of monsoon. Summoning the Minister for Commerce and Supplies Sunil Bahadur Thapa and the Ministry Secretary Naindra Prasad Upadhyaya at the Committee meeting today, the House panel told the government to keep foods ready for earthquake-affected districts for next three months. Under-Secretary at the Parliament Secretariat, Surendra Aryal, told THT Online that the Committee also directed the government to effectively carry out market monitoring to avoid black marketing and trade and supply of substandard products. In response, Minister Thapa said the Ministry has left no stone unturned to control inflation and ensure smooth availability of necessities. Meanwhile, the Committee also urged the Ministry to immediately probe into reported supplies of substandard and inedible food products to earthquake-affected population by the United Nations’ World Food Programme. Aryal said the government has been directed also to strictly monitor relief activities to ensure that no such material will reach earthquake survivors in the future. Earlier, more than 100 bags of rice sent to Laprak village of Gorkha district by the WFP were reported rotten. A Parliamentary panel had also found inedible lentil in a WFP godown in Banke on Sunday. READ ALSO:

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