The government has begun transporting food supplies to the Nagu area of Naugad Rural Municipality–1, a district not connected by road networks. The government started sending food supplies after locals warned they would boycott the election if their demands were not addressed. Although food transportation has begun, locals say they are still forced to buy rice at higher prices and are demanding price adjustments.
Local residents, through meetings held on 15 and 31 January, had announced an election boycott, putting forward demands including food supplies, roads, schools, and suspension bridges. Following this, on February 1, a meeting of the District Food Management Committee led by District Coordination Committee Chief Mahadev Badu (Kashyap) decided to transport food to the Nagu area.
According to that decision, food supplies are currently being transported to Nagu, informed Harkaraj Upadhyay, chief of the Food Management and Trading Company branch office in Darchula. In the first phase, 33120285 sq. ft. of rice have been sent to the area.
According to Upadhyay, transportation of 1,000 quintals of food supplies for Ward No. 1 has begun. He stated that CK Construction has initiated the transportation. The company is sending rice for distribution in Nagu, Parimela, and Iyarkot. The Food Corporation is providing coarse rice at a rate of Rs. 62 per kilogram. The price has been set at Rs. 1,550 per 3645 sq. ft.
According to Ward No. 1 Chairperson Harilal Mahata, food transportation to the village is continuing regularly. Currently, food is being transported up to Sundmund in Naugad Rural Municipality–1 by jeep and tractor. From Parimela onward, mules are delivering food supplies to village shops, Mahata informed.
Previously, rice had been transported to other food depots in the district, but not to Nagu. The Food Management and Trading Company had called tenders twice in the current fiscal year for transporting rice. However, no transporter submitted proposals due to the low transportation rate set for the Nagu depot, which delayed timely supply, Chief Upadhyay said. The company had issued a tender setting transportation charges at Rs. 2,100 per quintal. Even after a second tender call in November, no proposals were registered, resulting in halted transport.
Due to the lack of road access and the high costs of transporting supplies by mules and porters, contractors did not participate in the contract process, said Rural Municipality Chairperson Daljeet Singh Dhami. According to him, contractors refused to bid this time, citing losses from transport in the previous year. The Nagu area is the most remote settlement in Naugad.
Locals have objected that the rice transported by the government is more expensive than market prices. According to local resident Karansingh Dadal, rice is available in the market at Rs. 58 per kilogram, whereas the Food Company’s rice is being sold at Rs. 62 per kilogram. However, although sales remain limited now, the Food Corporation’s rice is being purchased as commercial rice supplies have not yet reached the area.
This week, when a team led by Chief District Officer Anil Paudel visited Nagu, locals requested adjustments to the price of the Food Corporation’s rice, according to Dadal. The area remains highly remote. Locals have drawn attention to the issue, stating that the government should provide rice at subsidized rates and that it creates hardship when government-supplied rice costs more than commercial rice.