Imphal, March 13: Drawing the attention of the State authorities to distress of Hmar people the Hmar students' Association (Ghqs) has submitted a memorandum to the Chief Secretary Jarnail Singh urging the top official to intervene in ensuring that suffering villagers receive adequate food grains supply.

Tipaimukh sub-division in Churachandpur district which shares border with Mizoram is informed to be facing acute scarcity of rice owing to bamboo flowering, according to the HSA representation that also alleged absence of public distribution system by the Food and Civil Supply (FCS) department.

The memo signed by HSA president John Pulamte said the sub-division and its adjoining areas have been hit by a cyclical bamboo flowering resulting in uncontrollable raise in rodent population.

It also pointed out that agricultural produce particularly rice during the harvest season of 2006 had declined by about 90 percent compared to annual yield of preceding years.

"If past experiences in the living memory is of any indications, there will be no production of food grains in the area in the next one or two year and that will inevitably lead to famine.

The situation is grim and people are staring at imminent death from the starvation," it said.

The memo further highlighted that allotment of rice for the area is only 471 quintals of BPL and 107 quintals of AAY per month which is meant for over 52 villages with a population strength of about 4800 families.

Stating that Tipaimukh area is inaccessible especially during monsoon season from the district headquarters and Imphal as well, the memorandum said the only route by which food grains can be brought is by using boats on the Barak river from Silchar to Parbung, the sub-divisional hqs.

The distance is about 230 kms compared to Imphal which is 290 Kms away.

The memorandum urged the chief secretary to intervene so that the Ministry of Food and Civil Supplies allows transportation of food grains from Silchar.

The association's vice president Joseph Hmar has already informed that state's FCS authorities have stopped dispatching rice about two months back at the areas thereby the villagers have been facing scarcity of rice.

"We abortively attempted to contact the FCS officials as well as the transport contractors to give their replies for their failure to supply rice to the remote areas", he lamented.

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