SATEEK About a million people are facing famine in India's northeastern state of Mizoram after rats ate the region's entire paddy crop.

The rats swept through the forests, feasting on the fruits of wild bamboo, which flowers every 48 years. When they finished the bamboo, they turned to the farmers' crops. The last time the bamboo flowered was in 1959 when a similar influx led to severe food shortages.

Aid agencies have said that most villagers are surviving on wild roots, yam and sweet potatoes. “Conditions of widespread food shortage and hunger prevail in all eight districts of Mizoram,” said a report by the international aid agency Actionaid. “The Government is reluctant to accept that the situation is rapidly slipping out of its control.” Mizoram needs about 15 million kilos (16,500 tons) of rice a month, but only about a fifth of that is available.

Local people call the famine that follows bamboo flowering mautum, which means bamboo death. In 1959 the famine led to the birth of the Mizo National Famine Front, which ended up fighting the Indian Government for independence. After 20 years of war and 3,000 deaths, the rebel group won recognition for Mizoram as a separate state but not independence. (Reuters)

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