Rupandehi, April 21:

Daily wage workers and landless people living on Tinau river bank in Rupandehi district are starving ever since the commercial activities halted due to the general strike of the seven-party alliance.

The sale of stones, sand and crossed-stones remains at a standstill for the last 16 days. The workers and the landless used to support their families by selling sand, stones and crossed-stones gleaned from the banks of Tinau river.

Putting their daily economic activities to a stop, they joined the ongoing democratic movement of the seven parties. These poor people have urged the parties to provide them with food grains at least.

“Most of the people here are unable to rustle up even a single meal a day for the past one week,” said Raju Malla, a landless person, adding: “We are finding it difficult to survive.”

Min Bahadur Gaha sid, “We are taking part in the daily programmes of the seven-party alliance, keeping in mind the welfare of our generation and the next one’s. The parties should manage food for us.”

A local Gir Bahadur KC said, “We faced starvation for two days and were compelled to forage for food. After coclleting food grains from different fields, we managed to appease our hunger.” A great number of people were foraging about in the fields, trying gather a few handfuls of food grains.

These landless people are compelled to subsist on food grains, salt and chillies. When prices of edibles skyrocketed even these went out of their reach, they lamented.

They are paying Rs 20 for a kg of tomato, Rs 30 for a kg of chillies. Before the strike began, tomatoes cost only Rs 2 and chillies Rs 4 per kg respectively.

Landless people in Buddhanagar, Pragatinagar and Majhuwa are in the same plight. A great many landless people live on the banks of Tinau river. The river banks are their main source of livelihood.

Lila Giri, secretary of the Rupandehi unit of CPN-UML and also the member of the district’s unified people’s movement coordination committee, said: “After an all-party meeting, they will be provided with food grains. Activists of the parties will collect food grains from the bazaar as donation.”

Giri added, “We are serious about this issue and are going to hold an all-party meeting tomorrow.”