There is a food shortage in Bhotkhola Rural Municipality, the northern region of the district after the Chinese government closed Kimathangka crossing at the beginning of the Covid-19 epidemic.
Wang Cheder Bhote, Chairman of Bhotkhola Rural Municipality, said that there has been a shortage of food in Bhotkhola since the closure of the border. Bhotkhola has a population of nearly 6,000 people. The rural municipality produces potatoes, millet, maize, and buckwheat. However, the food produced in the district can only meet the demand for food for three months.
Kimathang used to go to Changa and Dendang in China as a local daily wage earner. Even now, when it is closed, they are forced to eat as wage laborers. Changa and Dendang in China are the major markets for the locals to buy daily necessities including rice for villages in the rural municipality. Furthermore, the markets were a source of income for locals of Kimathang, who worked as daily wage workers in those markets. The closed bother has also hampered the local’s income source.
Village Chairman Wang Cheder Bhote said the rural municipality distributed food supplies to 91 families of Bhotkhota Rural Municipality-1 and 2, with the help of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Law of Koshi Province Government and various organizations after the food shortage. The rural municipality received 90 quintals of rice. Chairman Bhote said that various organizations have received financial support of 150,000 rupees.
Bhote said that the municipality has requested 500 quintals of rice from the Koshi province government through the recommendation of the District Disaster Management Committee to manage the food crisis in Bhotkhola rural municipality. Village Chairman Bhote said the blockage of the Chinese market, results in an increase in the price of food for the locals. Food delivered from the headquarter of Khandbari to Bharia and Khachhad is costly in comparison to the food delivered from the Chinese market. Kimathangka Pass is about 162 km away from the headquarters of Khandbari.
Article 36 of the Constitution of Nepal 2072 guarantees the right to food as a fundamental right of the citizens. Article 2 guarantees the protection of citizens from life-threatening situations due to a shortage of food.
