What will we eat for rest of the year ?
Source: Hueiyen News Service / Daniel Kamei

Tamenglong, October 12 2012: With the shadow of food scarcity and hunger looming large in the wake of rodent menace that has led to destruction of vast tract of standing crops, it seems the woes of the farmers in Tamenglong district is not going to end.

Farmers in despair informed media that the poor harvest would mean another spell of hardship in the coming year.

With barely a tinful of paddy harvested this time, what will we eat for the rest of the year?, asked one woman farmer of Taningjam village.

This is a similar story throughout the entire Tousem Sub-Division of Tamenglong district.

The farmers disclosed that there is nothing to be harvested as all the standing crops in the field have been totally destroyed by rodents.

Rodent menace is not a new problem in Zeliangrong areas.

Some years back there were similar reports of multiplying rodent population causing mass destruction to food crops following the phenomenon of Bamboo flowering.

It is said that fertility of the rodent increases manifold after feeding on Bamboo flowers.

At that time some immediate relief measures in the form of distribution of rice to the affected farmers had been arranged, but no long-term solution was thought of.

A woman farmer standing on her rodent ravaged paddy field at Tanningjam village in Tousem sub-division of Tamenglong district

Some of the villages under Tousem sub- Division where almost zero harvest have been reported include entire Magulong circle consisting of over nine villages like Taningjam, Phellong, Inem, Imphal, Magulong, Zingjing, etc.

and those at Tousem circle and Saramba circle.

On the other hand, villagers of Tousem, Mandeu, Aben, Thuilon, Saramba, etc have not only lost all their paddy in the rodent menace but their vegetables too have been destroyed in the recent flash flood.

Talking to mediapersons, the worried farmers informed that harvesting of crops usually takes about a month or so in the hill areas.

But this year as there is nothing left to be harvested, many of them end up collecting straws.

As most of the affected villages are not connected by motorable roads, the problem of the farmers has been further compounded.

There would be no alternative route for supplying rice to the affected villagers and they would be forced to carry 30-40 kgs of rice from Tamenglong head quarter on their back and walk for over 40 to 50 kms to reach their respective villages.

Issuing an SOS, the affected villagers have drawn the attention of the district administration for taking up necessary measures to bail them out from the present predicament.