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Food shortages in the Ghukiya district; starvation across the frontier at Saporr |
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9th To Ghukiya. The bridle path up from the river badly wants planting with trees. After reaching the Inspection Bungalow I went out to see a disputed boundary 3 miles away. Many complaints - most of them trivial. |
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Nitoi of Nikiya was in, and I hear there is great distress across the frontier and that many persons have died of starvation in Saporr. Here the rice seems to be coming on all right, but stocks are exhausted. The Gaonburas have no modhu, and a woman is reported to have died of starvation. The village has an unpaid loan (of last year) of Rs 150/- and has applied for a further Rs 400/-. The Gaonburas still have mithan, but probably are unwilling or unable to sell, as the scarcity has reduced the price very considerably, as every owner is trying to sell in order to buy rice. Probably they will have to have a loan but I must wait till I get back to Kohima as I do not know yet to how many villages it will be necessary to give loans. Nearly all the Semas east of the Dayang valley in Sadr must be pretty well as badly off, and the Kacha Nagas and Kukis possibly worse, and there are still three months to harvest. Ghukiya is at present buying from Lotesami in Mokokchung, while Sakhalu is getting rice from Hoikiya, 3 days journey or so. |
