Karnali folks reel under skyrocketing prices

People in impoverished Karnali region of the country are compelled to buy daily essential goods at ridiculously high prices as a result of steep rise in air transportation charges lately, the Kathmandu Post reported Monday.

The prices of rice including other essential foodstuffs and commodities in the food-hit district have seen a steep rise in recent days because the World Food Programme (WFP) has started hiring private airline companies to transport goods to the region by paying very high freight charges.

According to the report, the WFP has been paying up to Rs 170 per kg to private airlines for transporting foodstuffs from Surkhet to Humla, one of the most remote places in the country, whereas the government rate is just Rs 75 for the same.

The people have to pay up to Rs 200 for one kg of rice in Karnali region. It costs just Rs 18 in Surkhet at present. Similarly, a bar of soap costs Rs 70 in Karnali, but the same costs only Rs 14 in Nepalgunj. Karnali folks also have to pay Rs 160 for a kilogram of sugar and Rs 300 for one litre of kerosene. Both items can be easily available in the capital at less than the quarter of those prices.

But the situation is such that people of Karnali will face a severe food shortage if the WFP stops supplying foodstuffs altogether.

Local traders admitted to the paper that prices have skyrocketed, but said there was no option as they have to keep the prices on a par with the WFP supplied foodstuff.

They said that if the same goods are transported on the back of mules the prices of most commodities can be brought down by more than 100 percent. nepalnews.com Dec 01 08