PAN, September 25, 2008

People eat grass to quench hunger in Bamyan

Almost sixty percent residents of Yaka-wolang district of central Bamyan province are facing starvation

Hadi Ghafari

BAMYAN CITY: Almost sixty percent residents of Yaka-wolang district of central Bamyan province are facing starvation with some families reportedly relying on consumption of fodder, officials said Thursday.

Muhammad Nasir Fayaz district chief of Yaka-wolang told Pajhwok Afghan News agriculture crop were affected by different infections the very reason faced the locals to hunger and posed great threat to their lives.

Ten elders of distant areas of Yaka-wolang turned to him to complain the situation and said a dozen families were eating grass due to lack of foodstuff.

"Great number of people would die unless the government and international community heeded to address the issue." He warned.

List of the families that were badly affected by hunger were dispatched to Red Crescent department in this province to attract their attention for assistance, Fayyaz added.

Muhammad Sadiq Aliyar director of Red Crescent Department in Bamyan said: "we dont reject the situation and we have also received several applications for help from districts of the province," he added:" we survey the vulnerable areas and provide assistance after the survey."

They had insufficient foodstuff in hand and would request welfare NGOs for assistance before the winter closes in, he added.

Not only people in Bamyan but also great numbers of families in distant areas of Badakhshan, Samangan, Sar-e-pul, Ghor and Ghazni were consuming grass to quench their hunger.

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