Photos of Mautam Food Crisis in southern parts of Chin State
19 March 2011: A selection of some photos taken and collected during the course of late 2009, 2010 and 2011 is presented depicting the ‘food crisis’ situation facing Chin locals in remote areas of government-ignored Chin State.
Local villagers have been suffering from the ongoing mautam-caused food crisis in southern parts of Chin State in Kanpetlet, Matupi, Mindat and Paletwa townships since 2007.
At least an estimated 150 villages are severely affected and struggling for their daily survival after their crops and cultivation have been destroyed by a plague of rats and ‘unusual’ weather.
It is estimated that over 100 villages along the Lemro (locally called Phunglong) river where the majority population are of Dai Chins, are also in need of emergency relief aid, according to Dai Community in Burma.
In its report released in October last year, the World Food Programme (WFP) said that there will be a significant reduction on crop production for many households due to the fact that crops were damaged by rodents.
Difficulties in accessing the affected areas due to remoteness and lack of ‘accessible’ roads have made both NGOs and local teams unable to collect necessary data and information. WFP also admitted that some parts of the worst affected areas are not assessed due to inaccessibility.
©Chinland Guardian