Jajarkot, March 27

Locals of Barekot and western part of Jajarkot are reeling under acute shortage of food due to negligence of the contractor who was entrusted with supplying subsidised rice.

It has already been months since Nepal Food Corporation’s depots located at various places of the district signed an agreement with a supplier company for supply of food items, but the supplier showed sheer negligence in this regard.

Locals of Tolkhana, Dhaulakot, Rokayagaun, Mulsam, Jiri, Samakot, Gothgaun, among other places, are grappling with food crisis. Likewise, food crisis is gripping people at Daha, Garkahkot, Kortang, Dashera and Suwanauli, among other places. Food crisis is such that locals cannot buy food items even at higher prices.

Agriculture produce grown in these places is hardly enough to feed locals for four months. They are forced to rely on Nepal Food Corporation’s rice throughout the year. Lack of transport facility and difficult route deter local traders from supplying rice to the remote areas of the district.

A contract was given to Sapana and Saroj Construction Service. Since the contractor failed to supply rice even after months, the Food Corporation cancelled the contract with the contractor and blacklisted the company.

Ongoing food crisis has irked the locals. Local Amar Bahadur Singh from Sakla demanded why supply of the rice was halted midway? “We want immediate supply of rice to the depot. Otherwise, the depots should be removed from the village. How long can we stay looking at the empty depot?” Singh poured his ire.

Food Corporation Jajarkot Chief Dharma Bahadur Basnet said that his office was making all possible efforts to supply rice to Barekot. “The supply was delayed due to negligence on the part of the contractor,” Basnet said, adding, “We are preparing to supply the rice to those places as early as possible.”

“The rice is about to rot in the district headquarters while there is acute shortage of rice in villages,” Basnet added.

Contractor had taken the responsibility to supply 1,000 quintals of rice from headquarters to the depots in the village within the current fiscal. The tender was approved to transport one quintal of rice at the cost of Rs 1,475.

Meanwhile, Barekot Rural Municipality chair Mahendra Shah asked the Food Corporation to supply rice immediately.  He said that they had urged the authorities concerned to supply rice to the far-flung depots within a fortnight.