Transportation of subsidised rice has come to a complete halt in Humla district since private airlines transporting rice to the district have stopped carrying the grain for the last three weeks.

Limi Valley, located beyond the Himalayas in the remote northern part of Humla district, is almost a four-day walk away from the district headquarters, Simikot.

People living in remote parts of Humla district face the grim prospect of shortage of subsidised rice during Tihar festival next month.

Construction of the Hilsa-Simkot road has been on hold after a 250-metre hard-rock was found in the Chyachhada cliff of Humla district, according to the project officials.

Traders in Humla have demanded that the government set up a branch office of Inland Revenue Office in the district, citing that the high expenses they have been bearing while visiting the tax office in Nepalgunj has been causing them uncalled for stress.

The construction of the Hilsa-Simikot road, which had been halted due to the lack of explosive materials for the last one and a half years, is expected to resume soon. The Nepal Army will be supplying 3,000kg of explosive materials to clear the rocks at the Chyachada road section.

As many as 370 Indian pilgrims, who were returning from Kailash Mansarovar in Tibet and waiting for their flights in Humla, were airlifted to Nepalgunj on Thursday.

The residents of four remote rural municipalities in southern Humla have been compelled to trek for two weeks to buy iodised salt.

Four persons died of viral fever at Sarkeghat Rural Municipality in Humla in the past three days.

The Humla-based Nepal Food Corporation (NFC) depot has distributed subsidised rice to the families reeling under food shortage at the instruction of the newly elected members of the House of Representatives and Provincial Assembly.

People living in the southern part of Humla district are facing food shortage due to last year’s drought.

The construction of a motorable bridge over the Karnali river in Hilsa, the Nepal-China border point in Humla district, is in the final stage. The authorities said construction works would be over in two weeks.

A deadly flu-like disease is rapidly spreading in the southern region of Humla already killing 18 people in the last three weeks.

Winter crops in Humla are dying out because of prolonged drought. As Humla has not received enough rainfall for the past several months, there has been a widespread crop failure in the district.

Sixteen people have died and many others have been taken ill due to flu-like disease at Raya, Syada, and Madana VDCs in Humla in the past two weeks.