Gorkha, December 3

The earthquake survivors of Gorkha district are facing problems in storing their crops. Local farmers of the area who have been sheltering in makeshifts since seven months after the April 25 earthquake are now having a tough time to store their crops, including paddy, maize and millet.

Dhan Bahadur Gurung of Lapu VDC-3 said millet has started developing fungus in absence of proper storage. “The millet stored in bamboo- made godown had rotten and become inedible.”

The abrupt fall in temperature has caused trouble to store crops in one hand while also affected the health of elderly and children on the other, said Suk Bahadur Gurung, another survivor of the Gorkha earthquake. “The congested hut does not have enough space to accomodate family members. Where would we store the grains?” he asked.

Constituency number one and two of the district are considered to be the pocket areas for paddy production, while constituency number three is for millet, wheat and barley farming, according to the Gorkha District Agriculture Office.

Senior Agriculture Development Officer Tirtha Kumar Shrestha informed that the collective crops store houses are being constructed in 10 areas of the district in view of the problems quake-affected farmers are facing in storing their crops.