Nepal Food Corporation (NFC) has decided to sell 8,000 tonnes of rice offered by Bangladesh for earthquake survivors after it started to rot. The rice is stored in NFC warehouse in Birtamode and Bhadrapur.

The government has permitted the corporation to sell the rice as there was no demand for the rice and it could rot if stored for a long time. NFC Spokesperson Shankar Sapkota said that the government has given them permission to sell the rice.

The government took the decision to sell the rice after it failed to deliver the products effectively to targeted areas. Sapkota said that they would be selling the rice in the remote Karnali region. The 770 tonnes left over from the relief shipment are being sent to Humla, Kalikot, Mugu and Dolpa in Karnali and Bajura in Seti. All these districts have been hit hard by the drought last year. The NFC plans to sell the rice at Rs30 per kg.

According to NFC’s zonal office Birtamode, out of the 10,000 tonnes of rice given by Bangladesh, 8,000 tonnes of rice has been kept in storage at its warehouse for the past nine months. It said that some quantities of rice have already started to rot.

“We have taken measures to stop rice rotting further,” said Markande Prasad Jaiswal, chief of NFC’s zonal office Birtamode. “We will soon release the rice.” Jaiswal said that the government has asked them send the unsold rice to Kathmandu. “As the rice offered by Bangladesh is steamed mota rice, it is not possible to sell them in Jhapa.  NFC has appointed nearly half a dozen of companies to transport the rice.

NFC claimed that the supply of rice to earthquake survivors was delayed due to their compulsion to follow the Public Procurement Act, which requires choosing the appointment of a supplier through competitive bidding.

Transportation disturbances due to the months-long Tarai unrest and fuel shortages as a result of India-imposed trade blockade in 2015 also delayed the supply, it said. The Supply Ministry in January had asked the corporation to sell the rice.  Subsequently, rice sample was sent to the Department of Food Technology and Quality Control for lab tests to see whether it is fit for consumption.  The lab test report showed that the rice is fit for consumption.