Banke, October 6:

Remote districts of the mid-western region are witnessing a shortage of food items at a time when Dashain is round the corner.

According to the Nepalgunj-based zonal office of the Nepal Food Corporation (NFC), the districts are witnessing a shortage of food items because food allotted for these districts could not be supplied on time.

According to chief of the Nepalgunj-based zonal office of the NFC Dipak Lamsal, there is a shortage of food items in Humla and Jumla districts.

Food items supplied to Mugu and Jajarkot districts have been consumed, the NFC official further said.

He added that they have not been able to supply food items to Kalikot and Dailekh districts so far this year.

He said food items could not be supplied to Kalikot and Jumla because a landslide has

obstructed the movement of vehicles on the Surkhet-Jumla road. Food items could not be supplied to Dailekh because the local road is in a bad shape, Lamsal said.

“Supply of food items to remote districts has been affected because the roads are in a bad shape,” he said.

Lamsal further said that the government has not provide funds for the supply of food via air. The government has allotted fund for the supply of foods to Dolpa, Mugu and Humla districts by planes this year. It plans to supply food items to Kalikot, Jumla, Jajarkot, Dailekh and Rolpa through land routes.

Though the government had planned to supply 10,000 quintals of food items to Jumla, it has managed to supply only 80 quintals so far. Though the government had planned to supply 2,700 quintals of food to Dolpa, it has managed to supply just 7,800 quintals.

No different is the story of Mugu, Humla, Rolpa and Jagarkot districts. Worse still, the government had plans to supply 6,400 and 1,000 quintals of food items in Kalikot and Dailekh districts. No amount of food items have been supplied in the two districts so far.

“We will supply food items in the districts, in which the government has pledged to supply the items via air, soon” Lamsal said.

“We will supply food items to Jumla and Kalikot districts once the road is cleared of landslide debris,” he further said.