Rotten rice in Laprak: Lawmakers find fault in storing
KATHMANDU: A Parliamentary team concluded that rotten rice supplied to quake-hit people in Laprak village of Gorkha by the United Nations' World Food Programme was damaged before it was dispatched to the village.
The three-member team under the leadership of CPN-UML lawmaker Bhanubhakta Dhakal submitted its report to Speaker Subas Chandra Nembang, who also heads the National Disaster Management, Monitoring and Direction Special Committee of the Parliament on Thursday.
"It cannot be said that rice supplied to Laprak by the World Food Programme was damaged after it reached Laprak or was sent for the village," the report concluded.
The investigation, hence, suggested that the food item was damaged at the WFP warehouse itself before it was dispatched to the village.
Meanwhile, the sub-panel under the Special Committee said nutrients supplied for children aged six to 23 months had already passed expiration dates.
The committee argued that the WFP representatives ignored suggestions by local political leaders and district authorities not to distribute particular rice bags after finding them damaged in Majuwa village of the district on May 12.
Likewise, the UN agency passed the buck on local implementation partners, namely Nepal Red Cross Society and Save the Children, for the damages, claimed the lawmakers' committee.
The sub-panel has recommended that government strictly monitor relief operations carried out by national and international non-government organisations so as to ensure that no inedible food reaches disaster victims.
Lawmaker duo Usha Gurung and Daljit BK Shreepali were members of the investigation team.
The lawmakers had consulted district level authorities and officials, WFP representatives and locals during the study.
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