Yogendra Yadav to undertake 'yatra' across drought-affected states

NEW DELHI: Swaraj Abhiyan leader Yogendra Yadav--accompanied by former West Bengal Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi and social activist Harsh Mander among others-- will undertake a 'Samvedna Yatra' through "drought affected" regions of seven states from October 2.

The two-week long yatra, that begins from North Karnataka, will make its way though 25 districts of Telangana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana.

It seeks to understand and highlight the alternative models of dealing with the drought, the group said describing the yatra as an attempt to draw public attention towards a looming "national disaster".

It will be comprised of a team of 10-15 activists, writers, artists, journalists and noted photographers such as Raghu Rai and Dayanita Singh.

"We are staring at a national disaster that is not yet acknowledged by the government nor adequately recognised by the media...monsoon this year is down by 14 per cent. As many as 295 districts covering 39 per cent land area of the country have experienced severe or drastic shortfall in rains," a statement said.

At its end on October 15, SA will hold a public hearing involving "leading voices" of the country from various walks of life. "For this, we first need the country to know about the extent and dimension of this crisis. The conscience of the country needs to be touched, awakened," it said.