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April 26, 2010

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Tibetan donations run down supplies

Residents of Lhasa, capital of Tibet Autonomous Region, have donated so much tsamba to the quake-stricken Yushu in neighboring Qinghai Province that many stores have run out of the Tibetan staple.

Many tsamba shops on Ramoche Street, a major grocery street, have closed as their stocks had sold out.

Gurum Tsamba, the largest tsamba shop on the street, was the only one that remained open on Saturday.

Shop assistant Tashi said daily sales soared from 10,000 to 40,000 kilograms after a magnitude-7.1 quake shook the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yushu on April 14.

"Many corporate donors have placed big orders directly with the mills, so we have to wait longer to get supplies," he said. The nearest mill that makes tsamba is in the outer counties about an hour's drive from Lhasa's city center.

Tashi said his store offered a 4 percent discount for every kilogram of tsamba bought for donation. "This is the least we can do for those people in the quake-hit areas."

Tsamba is a unique Tibetan staple food made of highland barley flour. It is the ideal food for the tough plateau environment of Tibet and Qinghai, because it's easy to cook, high in calories and provides energy for a longer time than other food.

Tibet has so far donated nearly 700 tons of relief supplies, including food, water and medicine for high altitude illnesses, to Yushu, said Xu Qiaofei, a civil affairs official with the regional government.

Meanwhile, cash donations have reached 11 million yuan (US$1.6 million).



 

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