VZCZCXRO3586
PP RUEHAST RUEHBI RUEHLH RUEHPW
DE RUEHCI #0187/01 1780834
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 260834Z JUN 08
FM AMCONSUL KOLKATA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2042
INFO RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RUEHGO/AMEMBASSY RANGOON 0442
RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK 0195
RUEHRN/USMISSION UN ROME PRIORITY 0031
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 0112
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 0070
RUEHC/USAID WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEIDN/DNI WASHINGTON DC
RUEHRC/USDA FAS WASHDC
RHMFIUU/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RUEHCI/AMCONSUL KOLKATA 2498

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KOLKATA 000187 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
KATHMANDU FOR OFDA 
ROME FOR FODAG 
NEW DELHI FOR USAID 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID EAGR SENV PREL SOCI IN
SUBJECT: MIZORAM CONTINUES TO STRUGGLE WITH SEVERE FOOD CRISIS 
 
REF: A) NEW DELHI 1326   B) KOLKATA 132    C) DHAKA 469   D) KOLKATA 95   E) DHAKA 110   F) 07 KOLKATA 353 
 
KOLKATA 00000187  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  The eastern Indian state of Mizoram 
continues to experience serious food shortages and a senior 
state government official has admitted that although Mizoram 
received substantial aid from the GOI, the state government has 
been ineffective in its response to the food crisis.  "Mautam," 
the cyclical bamboo flowering, which occurs approximately every 
50 years, has caused a population explosion of rats that are 
eating the bamboo flowers and other available food, including 
rice crops, and causing food shortages (reftels).  The bamboo 
flowering, which began in 2006, should finish by mid-2009.  Mizo 
contacts said that similar food problems exist in neighboring 
Burma but that the Burmese Chins (Mizos of Burmese nationality) 
are not crossing into India in large numbers to seek food relief 
given the food scarcity on the Indian side of the border. 
Relief aid organized by the state government has not reached 
intended recipients, especially in the remote south and western 
portions of the state.  Save the Children (STC), an NGO which 
received a grant of USD 50,000 from the U.S. Agency for 
International Development (USAID) for disaster relief, began 
distributing funds to needy families during the week of June 23. 
 End Summary. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
STATE OFFICIAL EXPRESSES GRATITUDE FOR USG SUPPORT 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
 
¶2.   (SBU) During a June visit to Aizawl, the capital of 
Mizoram, Assistant Public Affairs Officer (APAO) and PAS FSNs 
met with Mizo contacts, including state government officials, 
NGOs, academics, and journalists to assess conditions in this 
remote state bordering Burma.  APAO met the highest-ranking 
administrative official Chief Secretary Haukhum Hauzel, who 
expressed gratitude for USG assistance in response to the 
state's food crisis.  (Note:  On May 19 the USG announced 
$50,000 would be given to the NGO Save the Children (STC) in 
response to the food shortage in Mizoram.)  Hauzel defended the 
GOM's response to the food shortage, and was careful to say that 
the current situation is "not a famine."  He also insisted that 
no deaths had taken place due to starvation.  He expressed the 
desire to show that the GOM had the situation under control and 
wanted to avoid the impression of relying too much on outside 
help. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) In a June 12 meeting, the GOM's Diretor of Information 
and Public Relations L.R. Sailo told APAO that he believed that 
the GOM's response to the crisis had been too slow.  In 
2004-2005, the GOM submitted a Bamboo Flowering and Famine 
Combat Scheme (BAFFACOS) to the central government to respond to 
the anticipated food shortage from the impending bamboo 
flowering (ref. d).  Through BAFFACOS more than Rs. 100 crore 
(USD 25 million) was transferred from the GOI to the GOM in the 
past two years.  Some academics and contacts who met with APAO 
asserted that the GOM had squandered the money through 
corruption and poor planning.  The consensus among many contacts 
was that BAFFACOS failed to prevent the food shortages.  In 
addition, the GOM's poor performance could damage the ruling 
party, the Mizo National Front's (MNF) political standing. 
 
--------------------------------------------- - 
NGO TO MAKE EFFICIENT USE OF USG DONATION 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶4.  (SBU) NGO Save the Children, recipient of USD 50,000 in May 
from USAID in response to the food situation in Mizoram, is 
providing relief to affected villagers.  Earlier on June 17 in 
Kolkata, STC program coordinator Avinash Lahkar explained to 
APAO the plans for distributing the USAID funds.  Lahkar said 
that Saiha, the southern-most district in Mizoram, had been 
selected as the focus area for relief efforts, because it was 
one of the hardest-hit regions.  Given its remoteness, absence 
of infrastructure, and low development indicators compared to 
the rest of Mizoram, the suffering was more acute in Saiha.  STC 
will focus on 10 villages, comprising roughly 700 families. 
Each family will receive Rupees 2,400 (approximately USD 60), to 
be deposited in "pass book" accounts at the local post office. 
 
KOLKATA 00000187  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
According to Lahkar, the post office, under the direction of the 
central government, represents a reliable partner, and will 
ensure transparency and accountability through identity checks 
before funds can be withdrawn from the accounts.  According to 
Lahkar, BAFFACOS has been a "total failure" and the local 
populace has lost faith in the GOM because of its ineffectual 
handling of the food crisis. 
 
¶5. (SBU) In addition to providing relief, STC hopes to teach 
lessons about budgeting and sound financial management through 
the distribution of funds, as families will have to consider how 
to spend the Rs. 2,400.  STC has found that 60 percent of aid 
recipients can be expected to use the money to purchase rice. 
Families may also contribute to the Mizoram Public Distribution 
System (PDS) of rice, which necessitates buying the grain in 
bulk.  Temporarily flush with funds, villagers can pool their 
financial resources to buy rice in bulk to stock up for future 
needs.  Under the PDS, the maximum allotment per family is 35 kg 
per family per week.  With the grant Rs. 2,400 per household, 
families will now be able to buy their full quota of rice (35 
kg/week).  This would be prudent, especially considering the 
recent onset of the monsoon rains, which often cause landslides 
and make travel on the region's dirt roads nearly impossible. 
 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Comment:  With the bamboo flowering expected to last 
into 2009, Mizoram's food situation will likely worsen.  The 
state government's poor response has only contributed to the 
people's suffering.  The onset of the monsoon season, with 
flooding, land slides and washed-out roads, further complicates 
relief efforts.  NGOs like Save the Children can help to some 
extent but Mizoram's food crisis affects more districts and 
people than their resources can reach. 
JARDINE