Slums in Srinagar
Socio-Economic Characteristics of Slums in Srinagar City J&K India
Slums play an essential role in city life. As a place of residence for low‐cost labour, they keep the wheels of the city moving in many different ways. As a first stopping point for immigrants, they provide affordable housing that enables them to save for their future absorption.
Slums play a significant role in producing the services and commercial activities that the formal sector fails to provide through the mobilization of local enterprises and industry (Slum of the World, 2003).
Many governments around the world have attempted to solve the problems of slums by clearing away old decrepit housing and replacing it with modern housing with much better sanitation (Mandal, 1998).
The rapid growth of slum population in urban areas has resulted in many socio-economic and environmental problems. Slums are mostly inhabited by people who cannot afford decent housing. Poor economic status also has implications for the social characteristics of the slum population. Due to poor living environment, slum dwellers lack educational development. Many writers on slums emphasize the presence of anti-social problems as the necessary concomitant of slums. Slums are generally associated with social problems such as crime, delinquency, prostitution and gambling. Hence, they are commonly considered as areas lacking in community organization and even promoting disorganization (Rao and Rao, 1984).
Study Area
The present study has been carried out in the Srinagar city. The latitudinal extent of the city is 33º53´49´´ – 34º17´14´´N latitudes and 74º36´16´´ – 75º01´26´´E longitudes and encompasses an area of 278.1 km². Srinagar has had a glorious history. The name of the city of great antiquity is first found in Significance of the Study Fig 1.1 The socio-economic conditions of the slum population and their overall habitat have not been addressed in a detailed and comprehensive manner in the earlier studies. An attempt is made in the present study to analyse the geographical concentration and socio-economic status of the slum dwellers in Srinagar city. The study of slums is important to understand the physical, social and economic factors which are responsible for the growth of slums. Objectives of the study Kalhan’s Rajtarangini. Throughout the ages, Srinagar has remained an active growth pole. Srinagar is the summer capital of J & K state and its population is above 12 lacs which makes it the largest urban centre in Jammu and Kashmir. Srinagar city is situated around the banks of Dal Lake and Jhelum River. It experiences moderate climate during summer and severe cold in winter.
Distribution of Population and Gender Composition
The distribution of slum population in Srinagar city is quite uneven. In Srinagar city out of the total slum population of 2016, 1053 are males and 963 are females. Out of seven clusters, the waterfront cluster has the largest share of slum population (30.65%) followed by road cluster (21.08%), commercial cluster (16.72%), industrial cluster (14.98%), Shrine cluster (9.82%), rehabilitated cluster (3.72%) and transport yard cluster (3.03%) (Table 1.4) The gender composition is defined as the number of females per 1000 males. The gender composition is mostly dominated by males in all the clusters except the rehabilitated cluster. The higher gender ratio in a rehabilitated cluster is because of delay in female marriage because of dowery and the most common live-in son-in-law of males. The rehabilitated cluster has the highest gender ratio of 1206. In the waterfront cluster, the gender ratio is 950. The commercial cluster records a gender ratio of 948. In the road cluster, it was found to be 872. In the Industrial cluster, it was found to be 864 and in the Shrine cluster, it was found to be 904. The transport yard cluster has a gender ratio of 694, the lowest of all clusters.