Biratnagar, April 16:

The eastern region is reeling under shortage of rice due to the general strike running for eleven days today. Rice mills and shops remained shut and people went into panic-mode as a result, entrepreneurs said.

This problem has gripped the main cities in the eastern part of the country, such as Biratnagar, Itahari and Dharan, said vice-chairman of the Rice and Oil Entrepreneurs’ Association, Ganga Bisan Rathi. As the stock of rice is running dry at the rice mills, people are resorting to buying even kanika (bits of rice chipped off during husking). Rathi said stocks of rice are there with the mills but the mills could not function due to the bandh.

Kanika is especially consumed by the poor. It is also used for making alcohol and cattle fodder. According to entrepreneurs, kanika costs up to Rs 1,400 a quintal. The market price of Mansuli variety of rice costs Rs 2,000 and Basmati Rs 3,500 per quintal.

The umbrella organisation of retailers, Biratnagar Trade Entrepreneurs’ Association said that the reason for shortage is the bandh, during which transactions came to a halt. President of the association Dhruv Dahal said the sale of kanika picked up after the stock of rice finished. This time, the production of rice was not up to the mark in the eastern region, said the regional agriculture directorate. As the bandh and strike continue to prolong it is the poor people who are suffering the most, said Rathi.

The consumption rate of rice in the eastern region is 1,000 quintal daily, according to the statistics of the Rice and Oil Entrepreneurs’ Association. Rice mills here have been supplying rice from domestic sources and also by imports from India.

Although there are over 100 rice mills running in Morang and Sunsari districts, only 35 mills are involved in the transactions, said the association.

Meanwhile, the bandh is taking its toll of fresh vegetables as these are not being delivered to their intended destinations. According to the Retailers’ and Fresh Vegetable Entrepreneurs’ Association, Biratnagar, vegetables grown in Morang and Sunsari districts are consumed at the local level only. Association member Pashupati Bhagat said fresh vegetables produced by farmers of Morang and Sunsari districts could not be sent to other districts for want of means of transportation. As a result, the vegetables are rotting. Before the general strike began, fresh vegetables used to be delivered to different parts of the eastern zone and to Kathmandu.