THE SLUMS
Continuous migration of people from villages to cities creates many problems. The density of population of cities increases and civic amenities become short of needs. Law and order situation worsens. Prices of essential commodities start rising. Housing conditions become problem and rents become exorbitant.
New visitors in the cities starts living on pavements and thatched huts. This gives rise to slums, at times, adjacent to or right in the middle of posh colonies.
The poor moving to cities leads to development of slums. Their land in villages for cultivation is limited which is not much enough to support the landless labourers in the village. To avoid starving in villages, they along with their families step towards cities in search of employment. Men usually work as unskilled labourers, their women work in households. They build jhuggies that later become a cluster of huts.
Landless labourers too are fascinated towards cities as these have many factories where million hands are required. Later, these factory labourers bring their relatives and friends from their respective villages. Thus cities population start increasing unusually. Spread of education in village is responsible too for migration of rural people to urban areas.
Once a person in village comes to the matriculation level, the agricultural profession is of no interest for him. He is on the look out for an office job and hence depart from village. City life has its own charm & attraction. We have luxurious bungalows, multistorey buildings, clubs, cinemas, theatres and other places of the entertainment and employment. Villagers start enjoying city life. They send money to their parents and elders in villages at regular times. At times they too become lost in the hustle and bustle of city life.
The slums in the capital and metro cities have started becoming larger and larger with more migrants coming in, basic requirements like electricity, clean water, toilets may be lacking in slums and there is no drainage too. Heaps of garbage are found here and there. Hygienic conditions are not practised- thus slum dweller fall prey to disease like cholera, malaria, jaundice very easily. During the rainy season, it is more hell for slum dweller. Government is conscious of the deplorable conditions in which slum dweller live.
The necessary amenities for survival needs to be given to nearly crore of slum dwellers in different areas of the country. The National Council for Applied Economic Research has to take care of assessing the impact of slums improvement on the lives of slum dwellers.
Alas ! still the condition in India is a pitiable one with view to slum development since the government is unable to tackle this problem till present which is causing the country to be still called under developed and not a developed nation.
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