BAJURA, June 28: The Muktikot village of Swamikartik Khapar Rural Municipality-1 in Bajura is going through a food shortage. The prolonged drought and COVID-19 crisis led to the emergence of a food crisis in the village.
Local Bal Bahadur BK said the village is home to around 400 Dalit families and they are struggling to meet their daily food requirements.
Bajura VDC reeling under chronic water shortage
They are out of work due to COVID-19 crisis. “We have neither job nor food,” he said. India is the labor destination for a majority of youths in the village. But with the outbreak of the second wave of the pandemic, they returned home and are staying idle. The local production is sufficient to meet the requirement just for a month. They rely on the market for almost throughout the year, according to locals.
Muktikot is gripped by a food crisis and malnutrition is a common health issue among children here, according to Swamikartik Rural Municipality Information Officer Kuber Shahi. Children, pregnant women and the elderly are the most affected. Malnutrition is one of the reasons for the high child mortality rate in the village.
The village has not got any support from the federal or provincial government yet. A Poor Household Identity Board’s-2072 report states that 75 percent of the households in Swamikartik fall below the poverty line. Out of 2,185 households, 1,038 are living with absolute poverty, the report shows.
