Bhokmari ko Mausam (Famine in the far west), a 25-minute documentary about a looming food crisis in Bajura premiered on Nepal Television on Tuesday. Produced and directed by journalist Mohan Mainali from the Centre for Investigative Journalism, it focuses on the food crisis in the remote Maoist-affected districts of the northwest. After the security forces pulled out, Maoists hit bridges, airports and roads last year making it hard to get rice and wheat into this chronically food-deficit area.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) last week issued a statement saying its survey showed reports of the food crisis were alarmist. But Mainali maintains things were already bad four months ago when he shot the film, and because no food has got into the area since then, he didn't believe it had got better. He told us: "I don't know why the ICRC is trying to underplay this crisis."

It takes seven days to walk from to Bajura from the nearest road in Doti, and no food has reached the district headquarters of Martadi since late last year. The Nepal Food Corporation (NFC) says it can only send food if there is security, and banks re-open.