Humlis feel no relief in fuel price revision

RENU KSHETRY

SIMIKOT, Humla, Nov 3 - The Nov. 1 revision of oil prices by Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) might provide some relief to the urban population, but it means little to Humlis in the remote mountainous Mid West where locals are still reeling under heavy transportation costs, thanks ...

"We have heard that the prices of consumer goods will now go down," said Geeta Khadka of Binita Store in Simikot, after the NOC revision. "Prices go down by say Rs. 20 but they shoot up by Rs. 150." The high price tag is because consumer goods fly in small aircraft, which charge Rs. 120 for a kilogram of cargo.

Prices have especially skyrocketed in the last one year as the cost of aviation fuel shot up: transportation of each kilogram of cargo went up from Rs. 68 per kilo to Rs. 78 and now to Rs. 120. Worse, this has been a no-win situation for both consumers and shopkeepers.

"We are still bearing huge loss," said Khadka, the shopkeeper. "The situation has come to a head. We don't have the goods, while villagers are desperate for them.

The alternative trans-Himalayan road transport is long and hard. In normal times, it takes seven days to reach Simikot, the district headquarters of Humla, from Kathmandu. The last leg of the journey begins at Hilsa, where sheep, mules, mountain goats and yaks carry the luggage.

best of times. Only 33 km of the proposed Hilsa-Simikot 90-km road, where construction began in 1992, is complete.

Humlis rely heavily on airlifted rice distributed by Nepal Food Corporation (NFC). The total food production of the district is at 5,576 tonnes, while it needs 82,608 tonnes every year. Food supply from neighboring districts meets a shortfall of only 88 tonnes.

Himsakala Bohara was third in line to get the rice distributed at NFC food depot in Simikot. She had been there from the wee hours on Sunday. "If I don't come before dawn then somebody else will get my share," said Bohara.

NFC distributes food as decided by the district food management committee. Local residents have ration cards with a limit of 4 Kg per person.

NFC has also allocated 300 quintals under 'special provision' for the chief district officer and for local political party leaders.

Umapari Damai, a labourer, said market prices have shot up and the Rs. 250 he makes as a wage earner can't meet his expenses. The dependence on rice, thanks to NFC, has affected the food habit of children. "They would rather sleep on empty stomachs than eat barley or buckwheat bread," said Damai. "For us it is not a must, but for children and for guests we have to have it [rice].

Ganga Bhatta, principal of Mansarovar Higher Secondary School, offered a different theory about the perennial food shortage. "The airlifted rice has only made them more dependent. They are not looking for new technology to increase productivity.

Of the total 8,618 hectares of productive land, only 5,040 hectares have been in use, according to District Agriculture Development Office.

"We give what we have and it is not our fault if the flights are not regular, but locals fight with us," said Narayan KC, senior assistant at NFC. "NFC in the centre [Kathmandu] signed the deal with the distributor who does not own the aircraft, leading to excessive transportation costs. The flights aren't regular either.

Nain Bahadur Karki, acting CDO, said it would be more cost-effective if the government could speed up construction of the Hilsa-Simikot road said Karki. "Construction is underway and it will be completed within the next few years if things go as planned. Until then, the poor Humlis will continue to rely on expensive planes.