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SIMKOT: A food crisis has emerged in the mountainous district of Humla due to delayed food supplies. Various companies contracted to supply rice to the district, along with the Food Management and Trading Company (FMTC) Limited, are being held responsible for the critical food situation. The district heavily depends on government rice subsidies for its food requirements.
The FMTC branch office in Simkot has been out of stock for the past two months. Although a total of 14,000 quintals of rice were endorsed for supply to this district in Karnali Province for the fiscal year 2023/24, there has been no food transportation to date.
FMTC Humla Chief Krishna Adhikari said that although it was agreed to transport 4,000 quintals of rice to Humla via road and the remaining 10,000 by air cargo through different suppliers, this has not been carried out so far. He expressed concern about the situation, stating that the food depot is currently unable to supply rice to the people in the district.
The branch office requires 2,500 quintals of rice to distribute to locals, markets, and employees simultaneously. Additionally, it needs to have some rice in stock to address emergency food requirements for inmates and detainees.
Simrik Air was contracted to supply 10,000 quintals of food – 6,000 tons from Surkhet and 4,000 from Nepalgunj, but progress has been minimal.
The rice intended for Humla remains in Surkhet and Nepalgunj, as Simrik Air, responsible for transporting the food grain to Humla, has failed to supply rice. Likewise, LB Suppliers, which was awarded the contract for the transport of rice to Humla via surface transport, has not yet transported the rice. Changla Transport Service, responsible for transporting 1,000 quintals of rice, has not fulfilled its responsibility to date.
