West Timor locals cry famine, govt officials reject claim

Yemris Fointuna and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Kupang

A food shortage in certain areas of East Nusa Tenggara province is becoming more serious. Residents living in affected areas said on Monday that they were beginning to experience difficulty in getting enough food, and that their rice barns were now empty.

They said that with their rice supples now depleted, they were now eating anything available, including corn, cassava and arbila, a kind of forest nut.

"The prolonged drought has caused the rice plantings to fail, leading to rice scarcity," said Siprianus Taebenu, a resident of Tunbaun subdistrict, Kupang regency.

"Our rice barn has been depleted. We don't know what to do," said Maksi Taneo, a resident of South Central Timor regency.

Despite their complaints, the East Nusa Tenggara government claims that there was no famine in the province.

"Ten out of 18 regencies are facing a situation that may lead to famine. However, famine has yet to actually happen in those regencies," said Frans Leburaya, deputy governor of East Nusa Tenggara province, without elaborating.

Similar sentiments were expressed by Alwi Shihab, the Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare.

"I have called the East Nusa Tenggara Governor. There has been no starvation. There is a lack of food and a water shortage, but everything is still under control," said Alwi.

He said that he had asked the local administration to assist certain areas in East Nusa Tenggara that are facing food and water shortages due to drought.

Separately, chief of the social agency at the East Nusa Tenggara provincial administration, Welhelmus Padja, said that the provincial government had prepared 50 tons of rice to be distributed to areas affected by the drought.

In order to tackle the water shortage, the provincial administration would explore the possibility of drilling groundwater wells, said Welhelmus.