Slums and associated problems: a case study of Almora town in Uttarakhand
See also: Livelihood Scenario in Uttarakhand Himalaya
Rapid urbanization and socio-economic development have transformed the urban structure completely. This change is affecting urban settlements on the social and environmental levels. Slums are those areas of the city whose settlement is often used for minimum development of low-grade and blind structures.
The rate of urbanization in developing countries is higher than in developed countries. This is the reason that 96% of the slums of the world are seen in developing and least developed countries and only 4% of them are seen in developed countries.
Out of the total 121 crore population of India, 65,494604 people are living in slums. On the other hand, Uttarakhand which is a hilly state, out of its one crore population, 4, 87,741 people is residing in these slums (Census of India, 2011).
Slums are considered to have an important role in keeping Almora town clean, in the absence of basic facilities and regardless of their health. In a way, it would be more appropriate to call them Swachak Mitra (those who contribute to keeping the environment clean) but their problems are becoming a hindrance to their development.
Living condition in slums has a direct impact on people’s health. However, the prolific spread of slums has been a rampant problem in urban areas worldwide. But these people are not less than a warriors.
So, to improve the lives of people who live in slums requires community empowerment, good local coherence, dialogue among all stakeholders and political commitment from the state. For which it is very important to strive for real-time policies and facilities.
This paper deals with issues like problems and particularly requirements of basic infrastructure and services such as houses, hospitals, water, sanitation, solid waste management, land registration, education, vocational training and financial support to the slums of Almora town.
more than half of the world’s population lives in urban areas (United Nations, Department of Economics and Social Affairs, 2014) out of which 31.2% live in slums with 43% in developing countries (Un-Habitat, 2003). Slums generally develop in the outer parts of the urban settlement areas.
The Industrial Revolution of the 19th century, which led to the emergence of modern industrial cities, was the factor as a new central element in urban organization. Slums also began to develop on a large scale with the industrialization of the 19th century. “Any predominantly residential area where the dwellings because of dilapidation, overcrowding, faulty arrangement of design, lack of ventilation, light and sanitary facilities or any combination of factors are detrimental to safety, health and morals” (U.S. Housing Act,1949).
The appearance of slums may be seen as a byproduct of the process of urbanization in a developing country like India (Goswami, and Manns, 2013). Rapid urbanization is increasing in the mountainous regions of the Himalayan states of Uttarakhand, due to which the urban sprawl, suburban and slum areas are also increasing, the main reason for this can be attributed to unemployment, poverty and migration.
These cities house almost 69.1% of the total means 0.77 million populations residing in 578 slums spread across the state (Pant, 2017). The condition of the people is worse as a slum is usually a highly populated urban residential area consisting mostly of closely packed, decrepit housing units located in a deteriorated or incomplete infrastructure, inhabited primarily by impoverished persons (UN-Habitat, Kenya, 2007).
Although slums, especially in America, are usually located in suburban areas, in other countries they can be located in suburban areas where housing quality is low and living conditions are poor (Caves, 2004).
The two major issues in dealing with slums are the most vulnerable slums to climate change and how are they being addressed through government policies (Habeeb and Javaid, 2019). Now, environmental health issues are some of the most visible symptoms of the challenges facing informal and slum settlements (Mossavi, 2011).
Slums in the study area are facing a variety of physical, socio-cultural, economic and environmental problems. The area with a low level of housing which is characterized by a large population is called a slum. Therefore, the slum is defined as an illegal occupation with overpopulation, in which a lack of basic facilities such as poor domicile, poor drinking water, and poor health facilities are found. At present, slums are the biggest problems of urban centres due to rapid urbanization and lack of resources.