The remote mountainous district Jumla is facing an increasing food crisis from the start of the new fiscal year.

The food shortage is due to the frequent damage of the Karnali Highway and the transporters´ inability to supply food grains to the area, state-owned news agency RSS reports.

The traders in the market here have started selling food grains at exorbitant prices. Long queue of people can be seen at the Nepal Food Corporation (NFC) godown from early morning waiting for their turn to buy food grains at subsidized rate.

Twenty-five kilograms of Sina Mansuli brand fine rice now costs Rs 1,800.But one can get 30 kilograms of the same brand of rice at NFC godown at Rs 1,050.

NFC Jumla branch chief Rana Bahadur Budhathoki said the godown has only 450 quintals of rice in stock and it would not last until the end of this month. nepalnews.com