Baglung, August 24:

Food shortage has affected the remote VDCs of Baglung district including Rajkut, Devisthan, Darling and Nisi from the past two months. The VDCs lie some 108 km west of the district headquarters Baglung bazaar.

Locals told this daily over phone today that natural disasters caused lack of food grain in the VDCs.

“Stock of food grain in my home finished and I have no money to buy more,” Tejendra Bikram Kunwar of Rajkut said. He said that the local administration and the Nepal Food Corporation have to take initiatives to provide relief at the earliest.

“We have been facing a food shortage for the past two months,” Jeetendra Kather of Nisi said. Recent storm damaged maize plantation at Rajkut and Devisthan VDCs, locals said. “The administration has directed the NFC depots at Birtibang and Harichaur to distribute food grain,” chief district officer Surya Prasad Bhandari said, adding that they are discussing the matter with the NFC regional office in Pokhara.