Regent denies famine hits Donggala regency<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A government official denied yesterday that 12
\npeople had died of starvation in Donggala regency, Central
\nSulawesi, and that thousands of others were facing the same fate.<\/p>\n
Donggala Regent Syachbuddin Lobajo said the region had an
\nample supply of food and as it was one of the rice bowls of the
\nprovince it was impossible for people to die of hunger.<\/p>\n
\"Even now there's a surplus of rice stock. We cannot accept
\nthe (reported) deaths,\" he told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Syachbuddin was commenting on an Antara report Thursday, that
\n12 people had died of starvation in the village of Palasa in the
\ndrought affected Tomini subdistrict.<\/p>\n
The agency reported that Mahmuddi, the head of the regency's
\nsocial services, had given a list of victims released by his
\noffice. They include Maiya, 50 years; Singne, 30; Galib, 55;
\nSameria, 60; Aisya, 40; Alim, 35; Arjang, three; Daniel, 40;
\nUtti, 30; Paulus, 12; Banetal, 45 and Uti, one year old.<\/p>\n
Mahmuddi was also quoted as saying that the local health
\noffice had confirmed that the deaths, which took place between
\nSept. 6 and Oct. 7, were caused by malnutrition.<\/p>\n
Syachbuddin said yesterday: \"There have been no such deaths.\"<\/p>\n
He said he visited Palasa village in Tomini soon after reading
\na report on the deaths in the local daily, Mercusuar, Tuesday,
\nonly to find that the report was \"untrue\".<\/p>\n
\"That day I took with me a ton of rice to Tomini, which is 200
\nkilometers north of the capital Palu. But the subdistrict head
\nand village heads there told me no one had died of starvation in
\ntheir areas.<\/p>\n
\"Yes, there has been drought in the region, but rain still
\nfalls intermittently and I saw people carrying their harvest to
\nthe market,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Donggala, with 13 subdistricts and a population of 670,000, is
\nthe largest regency in Central Sulawesi and, according to
\nSyachbuddin, has managed to export its rice surplus to Maluku,
\nNorth Sulawesi and East Kalimantan.<\/p>\n
The provincial social service office said the twelve died not
\nbecause of food shortages, but because the people could not
\nafford to buy food, which was in abundance in the region.<\/p>\n
The head of the office, Haerullah, said the villagers did not
\nhave money because their crop harvest had failed due to the
\ndrought.<\/p>\n
He said several villages in the Buol Toli-Toli regency's
\nsubdistricts of Galang, Baolan and Toli-Toli Utara were facing
\nthe same plight.<\/p>\n
Antara also reported Thursday that thousands of people in the
\nvillages faced the threat of starvation because of this year's
\nlong dry season.<\/p>\n
Government officials in Toli-Toli regency were not available
\nyesterday for comment on the latest situation in the region.<\/p>\n
In Central Java, thousands of villagers in the regencies of
\nBoyolali, Sragen, Blora and Grobogan are suffering from shortages
\nof rice and have been forced to eat cooked cassava powder, Antara
\nreported yesterday.<\/p>\n
Villages reportedly hit by drought-induced rice shortages are
\nGarangan, Bercak and Bengkle of Wonosegoro subdistrict and
\nMunggur village in Andong subdistrict in Boyolali regency.<\/p>\n
Other subdistricts in the regency affected by rice shortages
\ninclude Klego, Kemusu and Juwangi. (aan)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/regent-denies-famine-hits-donggala-regency-1447893297",
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"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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