District Disaster Management Committee (DDMC) of Gorkha has started distributing rice stored in a warehouse of Nepal Food Corporation (NFC) after getting rid of weevils and other pests, to the people in the earthquake-hit areas of Gorkha district.

Ganga Prasad Shah, Chief of Gorkha NFC, said, “Some technicians from the World Food Programme assisted the NFC in getting rid of weevils and other pests.

“After the DDMC directed [us] to distribute the rice, we have started carrying the grains to quake-hit Gumda, Aaruarbang and Lapu VDCs,” said Shah.

Shah said the rice is free from bugs and pests and suitable for human consumption.

He said 80 workers were involved in removing weevils and other pests from the stored rice.

Shah claimed that they checked each sack before distributing the rice in quake-affected areas. Some sacks of rice unfit for consumption were disposed off. The NFC sent 35 quintals of rice to the Gumda VDC wards number 1, 2 and 3 on Monday.

Officials from the regional office of the NFC had inspected Gorkha NFC office after the news about rotting rice.

Gandaki Zonal Chief of the NFC, Ambika Prasad Ghimire, said the rice stored in the godown was fit for human consumption.