Heavy snowfall triggers food and fodder crisis in Humla’s Limi Valley
Heavy snowfall in Humla’s Limi Valley has destroyed crops and blocked supply routes, leaving 111 households facing critical food and fodder shortages.
Residents of the remote Limi Valley in Humla are facing food and fodder shortages after heavy snowfall cut off the area and destroyed crops and grass. The snowfall, on September 26 and 27, blocked the mountain pass linking the valley's three settlements, Til, Halji and Jang, to the rest of the district.
Agricultural and livestock losses
According to reports from Gorkhapatra and The Rising Nepal, the snowfall has devastated local fodder supplies. Paljor Tamang, the ward chairperson of Namkha Rural Municipality-6, said the snow covered the grass just as farmers were preparing to cut and store it for the winter. The grass has been spoiled by the snow and cannot be cut, leaving livestock owners without feed to keep their animals through the winter months. Although 325 mountain cows stranded in the snow were rescued, it will be difficult to feed them without the grass.
Beyond livestock, local food supplies have been hit. Onlinekhabar and its English edition report that the snowfall damaged ripe crops, including barley, buckwheat, peas and radishes. Nakyap Lama, a resident of Halji, said crops buried under the snow for three weeks have rotted and become unusable.
Supply chain disruption
The shortage is compounded by subsidised grain from the Food Management and Trading Company Limited not having reached the area for a year. Although a distribution centre exists in Halji, it has received no supplies. Ward Chair Tamang said the food allocated for the valley has reached Yalwang, the rural municipality's administrative centre, but snow on the road across the Nyalu Pass has halted transport. As a result, the government-subsidised food cannot reach the valley's 111 households.
Snow up to three and a half feet deep has blocked roads and restricted access to essential services. Residents are also short of firewood and drinking water, as taps have frozen, and patients needing treatment outside the area may have to charter helicopters, Tamang said. With local harvests damaged and supplies from Taklakot in China also unavailable, food insecurity in the valley has worsened. Keshav Raj Budha, chief of the Food Management and Trading Company's provincial office in Surkhet, said he would provide information after looking into the matter.