Harmful impacts of slums on society and people living in it

Rapid urbanization in conjugation with industrialization has resulted in the growth of slums. As we have discussed in this post that how the shortage of land for housing, the high prices of land beyond the reach of the urban poor, and a large influx of rural migrants to the cities fuelled the development of slums. These slums give rise to many problems in urban areas. The major problems of slums in India are as follows:-

Shortage of space: About 77.6% of the urban dwellers in Mumbai reside in one room and lakhs of them sleeps on the footpath. About 62% of the households of the metropolis reside in these slums. This gives rise to the problem of a shortage of space.

Prone to natural and man-made hazards: As in slums, houses are crammed in a little space, and they are often prone to dangerous hazards like floods, water logging, fire, etc. The extent of hazard is increased because of high population density. The slum areas of Delhi specially Yamuna-Pushta are affected by the flood-water of Yamuna every year. The Kutcha houses of slums frequently catch fire in summer.

Poor living conditions: Slums are not planned hence they lack basic amenities. Slums have invariably extremely unhygienic conditions. There are no toilets and people defecate in open. Slums have practically no drainage. Most of the slums are located near drains that contain filthy stagnant water.

Health hazards: The poor living condition in slums affects the health of people mentally and physically. Water contamination cause disease like blood dysentery, diarrhea, malaria, typhoid, jaundice, etc. Children with bloated bellies or famished skeletons, many suffering from polio, are a common sight. People are not aware of health problems.

Social problems: Socially, slums remain isolated from the rest of the urban society and exhibit pathological social symptoms like drug abuse, alcoholism, crime, vandalism, and other deviant behavior. The lack of integration of slum inhabitants into urban life reflects both, the lack of ability and cultural barriers.