Foreign NGO in Mizoram

Several charitable institutions, moved by the distress of Mizo villagers in the aftermath of the crop loss, will mobilise food relief for them.

The flowering of the bamboo plants in Mizoram is a queer ecological phenomenon that takes place every 48 years. The drove of rats, which feed on the fruits of the bamboo plants during this season, attain a sudden increase in their power of libido. As a result, they tend to give birth to more litters of their progeny, which rampage in the agriculture pastures, thus giving rise to crop failures.

Already two such overseas relief agencies are in Mizoram to render food supply to the villagers, who are now reeling under the famine. .

According to official reports from Aizawl, the Salvation Army, an evangelical body, has decided to set up 10 fair-deal centres in the remote areas of the state. The members of a Canadian NGO, Canada Norlyn Audio Vision Service, are already in the state scouting for the ravaged habitats there to distribute packaged food among the famine victims.

Stuart Roger Spani, a director of this NGO, who has arrived with four other volunteers, said their food relief articles, would be brought from Montreal and Ottawa.

Mike Cafful, a field operation specialist from the London headquarters of the Salvation Army, is already in the state to oversee the charity drive. He said the relief food materials would be distributed at half the price of their prevailing market rates.

Food and civil supplies minister Sangthuma said such foreign and national relief NGOs are welcome in his state in times of crisis. Mizoram Governor M.M. Lakhera also expressed his concern at the food crisis looming large in the state in the wake of the mautam.

He said the Centre had reduced the rice quota of the FCI from its earlier monthly level of 6,810 tonnes to 5,000 tonnes at present, even as 90 per cent of the state’s rice harvest was lost last year because of this rat rampage.

He said the state government has decided to release Rs 12.93 crore from the state’s calamity relief fund. The Mizoram government has also taken the decision to hike the weekly ration quota of rice from 2kg to 3kg in view of the crop loss.

Chief secretary Haukum Hauzel said the Mizo National Front government has also decided to distribute rice among the distressed families on credit, which would later be realised through manual labour in the government-sponsored infrastructure projects under the national employment assurance schemes.

Source: TELEGRAPH

Ray of Hope for Mizoram Sex Worker

For scores of women sex workers in the Christian-majority state of Mizoram, a church supported night shelter run here has turned out to be their only ray of hope.

"The night shelter is aimed at helping sex workers return at night to a secure home. Most women who took to prostitution were driven out of their homes," said Major Lalngaihawmi, who is in charge of the Salvation Army-run home.

The Mizoram AIDS Control Society helps the Salvation Army - an integral part of the church working towards the advancement of religious, educational and other charitable missions - in running the shelter.

"Our home is open at night for any woman, especially for the displaced and those who do not have proper shelter to sleep. They can stay at the home as long as they want for free," Lalngaihawmi said.

An average of 10 women come to the night shelter daily, besides seeking help for starting a new life. Some are willing to return to their own homes.

"This home is more than a counselling centre. We not only try to make these women come to the mainstream of life, but also do reconciliation work with their families to accept them once again," Lalngaihawmi said.

"We never criticise or look down on any woman, nor do we turn away those who have faced the courts and numerous humiliations. We genuinely try to help them return to a normal life," the Salvation Army official said.

During the day, the home acts as a drop-in centre for sex workers.

"We have three peer educators who provide information and spread awareness about implications of drug addiction and sex-related diseases," senior home in-charge Lalnunmawii said.

A 35-year-old mother of two who lived in the home is now a reformed woman.

"This shelter and the counselling made me get rid of my horrible night life. Now I am looking forward to starting a small business in my village," said the woman who did not want to be named.

According to various estimates, there are over 1,000 commercial women sex workers in Mizoram, including around 300 in Aizwal, a majority of them divorcees and drug addicts.

177 villages in Mizoram ravages by rodents

Thousands of rats have destroyed rice fields in Mizoram, fuelling fears of a famine in the region. "At least 177 villages have been ravaged by armies of rats in the state this year. About 70 villages that bore the brunt have nothing left to harvest now," according to Mizoram Agriculture Minister H. Rammawi.

At least 65 villages have lost half the harvest while 42 villages have experienced low intensity destruction.

Mizoram, with about one million people, is dependent on agriculture. Rice and vegetables are the dominant crops.

"In a single night the rodents can clip the ears from every rice stalk in a field," said James Lalsiamliana, plant protection officer of the state's agriculture department and head of the rodent control cell.

Reports of rats destroying farmlands follows vast forests of bamboo bursting into flower in many parts of the state. When bamboo flowering takes place, the rat population shoots up, leading to an invasion of granaries and paddy fields.

The Mizoram government has warned that a famine is going to hit the mountainous state.

The phenomenon of bamboo flowering occurs every 48 years.

According to tribal legends, when bamboo flowers, famine, death and destruction follow. Behind the superstition probably lies some truth as blooming bamboo does trigger a rodent invasion that feeds on stored food.

"There is an alarming increase in rat population that has devoured not only paddy but also maize and other crops. During last year's harvest when bamboo flowering began in the eastern part of the state, more than 60 villages lost their entire crop," Lalsiamliana said.

In 1958-59, a famine in Mizoram resulted in the death of at least 100 people, besides causing heavy loss to human property and crops. The famine, locally known as Mautam, broke out after bamboo flowering.

Historical accounts say Mizoram recorded a similar famine in 1862 and again in 1911 following similar bamboo flowerings.

"The state will now have to arrange financial support for these areas," said Lalsiamliana. The agriculture department has projected a minimal 80 percent crop destruction out of the total projected harvest across Mizoram this year.