People in Taplejung highlands busy managing food for monsoon

People of the highlands in Tapeljung are busy managing food for the future. This preparation is for the rainy season which generally results in incidents of landslides, floods and other natural disasters in the high-settlement areas.

With the beginning of Nepali New Year, people here are always busy in managing food for future use. The stock we gather now will be sufficient to meet the requirements till November-December, said Kelshang Sherpa from Ghunsa of Phaktanglung Rural Municipality-7. As per Sherpa, they remain almost isolated during the monsoon as transport facility in the region gets disrupted by floods and landslides and food security for eight months is the prime concern of the hour for every household here.

Till last year, the locals were using the Tiptala point for food supplies from China. However, since the transit point remains closed at the moment due to the COVID-19 crisis they are compelled to bring food from the district headquarters Phungling by paying high transport charges.

With the establishment of local governments, road construction projects were undertaken targeting remote areas in the district, but Ghunsa, Phale, Gyapla, Khambajen Amjilesa, Olangchunggola and Yangma villages have no access to metallic roads. The locals of Phaktalung Rural Municipality use mules and yaks for transportation purposes. One yak can carry a load of up to 100 kg at one time and the capacity of a mule is 70 kg. At present, motor service is available for up to 24 kilometres from Phungling and the animals are used for the remainder of the journey.

Tenzing Sherpa of Olangchunggola that lies at an altitude of 3,200 metres said they are managing rice, edible oil, pulses and wheat flour for the coming months. Olangchunggola is home to 65 Sherpa households.

Similarly, Yangma is home to 11 households and it is located at an altitude of 4,200 metres while 73 families reside in Ghunsa which lies at an altitude of 3,500 metres above sea level.