Conditions of urban poor are deplorable becaus

  • High vulnerability:
    • Indian cities are vulnerable to multiple disasters like urban floods, urban heat islands, air pollution, inaccessibility of potable water etc.
    • For instance, When the monsoon hits Mumbai this June, the city, which is already fighting the coronavirus pandemic, will be staring at another major challenge: vector-borne diseases.
    • People living in slum areas – ‘urban poor’ are also prone to suffer from waterborne diseases such as typhoid and cholera, as well as from more fatal ones like cancer and HIV/AIDS.
    • Also, women and children living in slums are prone to become victims of social evils like prostitution, beggary and child trafficking. Slum dwellers in general and regardless of gender, often become victims of such social evils.
  • Proliferation of slums: – land to people ratio in cities has been exacerbated. Also there is lack of hygenic and sanitation in slums leading to various health problem living there.
  • Non-inclusive development: Urban poor are not receiving the benefits of the development – rich are getting richer with development while poor are getting poorer. E.g. India is quite far behind in inclusivity index.
  • Degradation of environment and habitat: Urban commons like lake, urban forests, green areas in Cities are adversely affected due to the need for development, for instance, Aarey forests in Mumbai.
  • Development at the cost of poor: The peri-urban areas where tribes live are being occupied for establishments of industries without proper compensation and rehabilitation.
  • Hectic life: as per a survey people in mega cities are spend more time in office than home. Family life has been affected adversely.
  • Lastly, hunger, malnourishment, lack of quality education, high infant mortality, child marriage, child labour are some of the other social problems prevalent for urban poor.