Imphal, February 07: The worst apprehension has become true.

Just one day after the Cabinet decided to approach the Union Home Ministry to allot more rice to the people of Churachandpur district under the National Calamity Contingency Fund following the widespread bamboo flowering phenomena, confirmed reports have come in that the people of Tipaimukh sub-division have had to face the indignity of starvation since some time back.

When The Sangai Express contacted the MLA of Tipaimukh, Ngursanglur today, he said that following the bamboo flowering, rodents have caused havoc in the entire sub-division of Tipaimukh.

"At the moment the people are surviving on boiled Hah and Paan," said the MLA.

Following the bamboo flowering phenomena (locally known as Mautam) the population of rodents has multiplied manifold, he said and added that they have destroyed all standing crops.

"The rats have not only destroyed the then standing paddy but also the granaries and now they have started attacking cash crops like ginger," added the MLA.

Under the National Bamboo Mission, a total of six traps were allotted to Tipaimukh, he said and added that such a small number of equipments to catch the rodents has proved to be useless.

The Deputy Commissioner and SDO of the district and sub-division will proceed to Tipaimukh to assess the situation as well as get a first hand account, said the MLA.

Bamboo flowering started last year and with the impending catastrophe on hand, two NGOs had provided 2000 quintals of rice.

However the rice did not last more than two weeks, the MLA informed.

So far there has been no concrete help coming from the side of the Government contended the MLA and added that when the bamboo flowering phenomena started, the people of Tipaimukh had petitioned the Governor, Chief Minister and the FCS Minister to allot more rice for the people in the sub-division many times.

However all these proved futile, claimed Ngursanglur and added that the Government was even approached to declare a natural calamity so that more rice could be allotted to the affected areas, but to no avail.

The MLA said that the Agriculture Department, Horticulture Department and Veterinary and Animal Husbandry Department did conduct some small scale projects to counter the bamboo flowering phenomena, but it was not enough.

The returns from the agricultural activities was almost nil last year, the MLA said and explained that this was because the rising rodent population had attacked all the standing crops as well as the granaries.

Even cash crops have not been spared.

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