Nagaland: Villagers in Mokokchung reject bag of rice as relief for losses suffered in disasters

Our Correspondent

Mokokchung, Aug. 26 (EMN): Villages under Chuchuyimlang EAC Circle in Mokokchung district have expressed resentment over what they said was unfair treatment by the state government in connection with dispensing relief materials.

To express their grievances, the villagers called for a press conference at Tatar Salang, Chuchuyimlang village on Monday.

They told reporters that giving away ‘a 50 kg bag of Food and Civil Supplies (FCI) rice’ to each affected families as compensation for disaster relief under Nagaland State Disaster Management Authority (NSDMA) and Chief Minister’s Relief Fund (CMRF) was unfair.

“We have decided not to accept the relief rice because it’s unjust,” they said.

They added that victims have suffered losses of properties worth lakhs when cyclonic storms swept across the area twice between 2016 and 2018.

On April 30, 2016, a devastating cyclonic storm had swept across several districts in Nagaland, leaving a trail of destruction.

According to the chairman of Chuchuyimlang Village Council, the 2016 cyclonic storm had destroyed 85 houses, 30 plantations and farms. He added that a detailed report about the affected families was submitted to the district administration.

In 2018, a similar storm hit the village again, leaving 29 families homeless, besides destruction of farms and plantations. On this occasion, the affected families submitted their reports on a ‘Disaster Management Agency form’ along with their Aadhaar numbers, he informed.

Other villagers also reported similar loss of properties caused by the two natural calamities.

They informed that the victims often consulted the village councils for relief from the government; however, no relief arrived over the years.

And their initial elation when news of distribution of relief aid was disseminated from the EAC’s office turned into shock as they found out that each affected household was given only a 50 kg bag of rice as relief aid.

According to Fair Price Shop rate, a bag of 50 kg FCI rice costs INR 150 and the cost for hiring a vehicle to carry the rice is costlier than the bag of rice, they said.

“People will be unhappy to be compensated with a bag of FCI rice. Therefore we have decided not to take the rice,” they informed.

They further said that the relief material was dispatched through “notification CMRF/NSDMA /228/2018” for eight villages and Chuchu town.

They also queried why CMRF and NSDMA were clubbed together when they are two separate entities with different funding sources.

In this connection, they demanded the state government to respond within one week, from which agency (CMRF or NSDMA) the relief was dispatched.

They informed that eight villages and Chuchu town have taken this decision. The press conference was attended by village council members from Chuchuyimlang, Yaongyimti New, Yaongyimti Old and Salulamang.