People in remote Majkot, Kortang, Pajaru, Subanauli, Dasera and Daha VDCs of Jajarkot district could face food shortage this year because of low crop yield due to drought.

Since the villagers in these VDCs do not have access to subsidised rice sold by the Nepal Food Corporation (NFC), they have been paying exorbitant price to purchase rice at local markets.

 Mota rice is being sold for up to Rs 60 per kilogram.

Jayakuwara Budha of Majkot-9 said the production of paddy, maize and millet declined this year because there was not enough rain. 

The only option for the villagers is to buy rice paying a high price, he said. 

Many families are having difficulty eking out even a square meal a day as they cannot afford to buy rice at local markets.

NFC depots run dry as supply is delayed 

Meanwhile, the NFC has not supplied rice to Ghogi and Dasera depots in Jajarkot. This has led to the shortage of rice in the region. 

The state-run food agency had allocated 1,000 quintals of rice for the two depots, three months ago. 

Dharma Bahadur Basnet, chief of NFC, Jajarkot, said the transport contractor, Man Bahadur Khadka, has failed to supply rice to Dasera depot. 

As for Ghogi depot, the NFC Zonal Office in Nepalgunj, Banke, has not even started the process of picking transporter.  The office is yet to invite tender for transportation of rice to Dasera depot, Basnet said.

The NFC warehouse in Khalanga, the district headquarters of Jajarkot, has 2,400 quintals of rice, waiting to be ferried to Ghogi and Dasera depots.