BHOPAL : Sketching a scary picture of drought-hit Bundelkhand, former AAP leader and Swaraj Abhiyan senior functionary Yogendra Yadav said that the region might limp towards famine, if the situation prevails. Yadav was interacting with media in the state capital on Wednesday. The Swaraj Abhiyan had written a letter to CM Shivraj Singh Chauhan and he is yet to respond to their letter written on October 10 last year, Yadav added.
Yadav said that potable water should be made available urgently, MGNREGS works should be started on top priority and those who are left out of National Food Security Coupons scheme, should be taken into the act ambit. Saying that Central package of Rs 700 crore allotted to Bundelkhand does not seem visible in terms of relief preparations in the region, Yadav called for long term development strategy for drought-hit region.
Swaraj Abhiyan would undertake scientific survey of Tikamgarh, Panna, Chhatarpur and one block in Datia in next ten days. The rapid assessment was done from Jan 6 to 9 at Panna, Tikamgarh, Chhatarpur, Datia, Sagar and Damoh, Swaraj Sansthan senior functionary Avik Saha said.
Yadav said, “Cow has remained at the helm of political affairs in the country for a while but due to severe scarcity of fodder, people in Bundelkhand are forced to release their cattle including cows, outside the villages.
It is ironical that cow is much debated issue in the country these days but in states likes Madhya Pradesh, cows are released outside village and forced to survive on garbage.”
Painting a horrific picture of foodgrain scarcity in the region, Yadav claimed that people mostly tribals have started surviving on forest produce like triphala seeds to counter hunger. At several places, locals accepted that its months since they had pulses in their meal.
Yadav said, “The kids don’t have milk, animals don’t have fodder, people are not left with much potable water and some of the villages are surviving on one or two handpumps. There are no jobs so migration has surged this year as the region stares fourth successive crop failure this season. There are swathes of several kilometres where there is no crop visible in fields and impoverished winter this season has destroyed whatever crop was left.”
