Mautaam
The term "mautaam" comes from a devastating flowering of bamboo in a cycle of 48 years, in the north-eastern part of India. "The word 'Mau' means bamboo and 'Taam' can mean drying or death in great numbers, or famine or scarcity. The combination of these two words – “Mautaam” can mean two different things namely, the mass dying of bamboos causing scarcity of it or, famine caused by or associated with the mass dying of bamboo." [quoted from Mautaam.org ]
The mass dying of bamboo results in the rapid growth of the rodent population, especially rats. The rats then move onto the fields and eat up all the crops, resulting in the situation where the farmers are left with nothing to eat. Even attempting to grow new crops is futile, as the rats would again eat them up.
According to a survey report by the Deputy Commissioner of Lamka, Sumant Singh, IAS, more than 5815 hectares of land are affected, with about 2,522.69 hectares of land partially affected. A total of more than 9270 families are affected, causing 39094 lives at stake among which 22404 are children.
Aid Zomi is committed to addressing varied social needs of the Zomi and improving their living conditions. It aspires to make an impact on the lives of the Zomi across the world, especially in Manipur. It is hoped that Mautaam famine relief is but the first of many projects benefitting the needy Zomi
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