People of remote Saipal Rural Municipality in Bajhang district have accused the Nepal Food Corporation (NFC) staff of selling rice and flour to local shop-owners and deliberately causing food shortage in the area.

They said the staff of national food agency’s food depot in Kada were distributing foodstuffs only to ‘well-connected’ people these days and telling others that they were out of food supplies.

Keudi Bohara of Dhuli, who had reached Kada depot to purchase rice, claimed that the NFC staff and food supply contractor had been selling foodstuffs well before they could reach the beneficiaries. “We are here for the last three days to buy some rice. But the depot staff say that they are out of stock,” she said. According to her, the NFC depot has a limited supply of foodstuffs that they distribute to only a select group of people.

“People like us who have to walk for a whole day to reach here do not get any rice or flour,” she said.

Dhirka Bohara of Saipal claimed that the NFC staff and supply contractor were selling foodstuffs to the traders of Rupatola in Talkot Rural Municipality-2.

“You don’t get rice and flour at the depot, but visit any grocer at Rupatola and you will find them selling subsidised rice and flour at high rates,” he said.Dal Bahadur Bista, the contractor responsible for supplying rice in Saipal, denied the allegation.The disparity where some people were able to buy more rice and others less is caused because of security issue, he said.

“There are no proper security arrangements in place when the rice is being distributed. We are unable

to control the villagers. We have distributed rice in presence of rural municipal representatives,” Bista added. The villagers have also accused the NFC of repeatedly selling them rotten rice. Tamichhetu Tamang of Dhuli said the Usina rice and Masino rice he bought from the NFC depot were rotten and weevil-infested. Another villager Sunkala Bohara said she was compelled to buy substandard Masino rice because she was told that Mota rice was not available at the depot.

Chief of the Bajhang NFC Ishworidatta Pandey said that it was the responsibility of the supply contractor to ensure the food quality. “We do not tell them to transport rotten rice. It is the contractor’s job to ensure food quality,” he said. The NFC has allocated 2,000 quintals of rice and flour for Saipal in the running fiscal year.