Kathmandu, April 20:

The World Food Programme (WFP) has appealed to members of the Mugu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) to allow helicopters carrying WFP emergency food rations for drought victims in Mugu to land at the Gamgudi helipad.

A statement issued today by the WFP said the WFP humanitarian food deliveries have been delayed for over two weeks because the MCCI has “not allowed air operators to land until their demands for reduced cargo rates are met”. “Local MCCI officials in Mugu are blocking the delivery of international humanitarian assistance and their actions are causing over 3,500 people in Mugu to go hungry,” WFP representative Richard Ragan said.

“Despite multiple attempts to resolve the issue at the local and national levels, we have yet to receive assurance that WFP food aid deliveries to Gamgudi will not be disrupted.”

“We urge the MCCI to respect international humanitarian principles of access to relief food by granting WFP-contracted air operators the right to land so that food assistance to the needy people of Mugu can proceed immediately, “ Ragan said in the statement.

WFP said it is in its third phase of emergency operations to provide a two-month ration to over 375,000 drought-affected people in the mid and far-west.