Question

Answer the following question in about 150 words.

Describe the problem of slums in India.

Answer 1

Urban centres in India are more differentiated in terms of the socio-economic, politico-cultural, and other indicators of development than any other area. They represent social-economic disparities of the highest order. On one hand are the highly posh areas with huge farmhouses, wide roads, entertainment centres, and all amenities required for leading a luxurious life, on the other hand, are the slum clusters, generally referred to as “jhuggi- jhopris-clusters and colonies of shanty structures. Those people who were forced to migrate from the rural areas to these urban centres in search of livelihood but could not afford proper housing due to high rent and high costs of land, inhabit these slums. They occupy environmentally incompatible and degraded areas.

Slums are residential areas of last resort, with dilapidated houses, poor hygiene, poor ventilation, and a lack of basic amenities such as drinking water, lighting, and toilet facilities. These areas are overcrowded, with narrow street patterns that are prone to serious fire hazards. Moreover, most of the slum population works in low-paid, high-risk-prone, unorganised sectors of the urban economy. Consequently, they are undernourished, prone to different types of diseases and illnesses, es and can ill afford to give proper education to their children. Poverty makes them vulnerable to drug abuse, alcoholism, crime, vandalism, escapism, apathy, and ultimately social exclusion.

Dharavi, the second-largest slum in Asia, reveals extremely miserable and unhygienic living conditions. The area lacks sanitation and is infested with pests such as rats, resulting in miserable health conditions for the residents. The lanes of the slum are not wide enough to let a bicycle pass through them. People inhabiting the slum face chronic diseases, both communicable and those caused by deficiencies.
The lack of employment opportunities in rural and urban areas of developing nations consistently drives the population to urban areas.

The enormous migrant population generates a pool of unskilled and semi-skilled labour force, which is already saturated in urban areas. People coming to the slums are affected by several ills which cities of developing countries face. The existing social and economic infrastructure cannot accommodate the additional population. Lack of education, employment, and male selective migration tend to increase the crime rates. Due to failing infrastructure, people living in slums lack the minimum required amount of potable water. An improper sewage system creates unhealthy conditions. The massive use of traditional fuel severely pollutes the air.