UN Begins Food Relief To 200K+ Nepalis Hit By Worst Drought In Decades

KATHMANDU - The United Nations World Food Programme has started distributing emergency food to more than 225,000 people in central and western Nepal hit by the worst drought in decades.

The agency plans to distribute 800 tonnes of foodgrains in 10 of the impoverished country's 75 districts over the next three months, an official said late on Tuesday. "Food insecurity is already a fact of life in these districts, and we are very concerned that effects of the drought will exacerbate what is already a precarious situation," Richard Ragan, country director, said in a statement.

A bloody Maoist insurgency aimed at toppling the monarchy has raged in the Himalayan region since 1996. Last week, the rebels signed a landmark deal with the government which agreed to take them into an interim cabinet after King Gyanendra ended his absolute rule, bowing to relentless street protests.

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Families in these areas are struggling to find enough food to feed their children by selling household goods and livestock," the official said. More than 13,000 people have died in the Maoist conflict that has wrecked Nepal's economy which is largely dependent on tourism.

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