Another Independence Day

Two days ago, another independence day, special for some but not for those who struggle to survive.
The weekly magazine 'The Week' (17 Aug issue, page 34) spoke of cases of starvation in the Bundel Khand area of MP, where due to a five-year long drought people are starving. For a woman with four children, salt and roti once every few days is regular meal and when she gets an onion it is a feast. The visuals confirm the story. What is, however, not explained is the role of the local government. The village, however remote, is still in central India, not too far from a mis-size town like Mahoba, Banda, Jhansi and Chitrakoot. I wonder what the local government machinary is doing? Where is the Zilla Parishad, the Panchayat, the District and Block Development Officers and finally the Collector. Dont they read these reports? Dont they get information from their own subordinates? How is it that the Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme has not touched this area? Why are the local NGOs and other well off people not helping? Will someone ask the MP CM to answer? Does he not think that the Aam Aadmi is his responsibility?
I want to do something about this; at least help a few for a month or two until their health is restored so that they can once again start searching for some employment that will give them some money to eke out a living, but how do I do it? Last but not least, the well known eighty something year old social worker Nanaji Deshmukh runs an ashram in nearby Chitrakoot and is known to have done much work to bring succour to the local people. Where is his organisation? It is difficult to believe that his people dont know the ground reality in his backyard!!