India is a developing country with a massive number of people living in slums deprived of basic necessitates like health, sanitation, primary education and waste management. They lack opportunities and skills which has led to generations of malnourished, uneducated, unaware and unskilled or semi-skilled people, who find it difficult to find decent paying jobs. Hence it aggravates poverty, substandard living conditions and increased mortality rate from rural to urban areas.
As agriculture is barely a lucrative option, their only job option is to seek out work in the cities’ informal economies. Millions migrate to the cities every day to take up informal jobs such as domestic help, driving cars or taxi, construction site work, etc. However, this creates overcrowding in the already packed urban infrastructure. Migrants settle wherever they can and a whole community of undocumented settlers emerges with no access to basic services like electricity, water and sanitation, etc. Overcrowding results into lack of personal hygiene, medical help and hence become breeding ground of various parasites and infections and cycle repeat itself.
One such case is of Kaumudhi- A daily wage worker from Baster region of Chhattisgarh sustaining her two children. Due to lack of job she shifted to Raipur to her sister where she stays in a small slum area with six more people hardly meeting ends. Her migration is only the relocation of problem from one slum to another – rather than solution!
In order to control migrations, current state of rural infrastructure must be addressed. Access of credit and resources must be provided to slum dwellers – small and medium scale industries to be promoted more to generate more income opportunities. Proper research into agriculture, horticulture, poultry farming should be promoted bringing more opportunities for rural areas.
Investment in basic facilities such as health care, education and skills development could be the long-term solution to issues related to economic distribution. Life in the slums will only improve when its residents’ living situations are upgraded by building safe and decent homes with amenities like clean drinking water, electricity, better jobs (via skills training) are the only way out for curbing poverty and uplift society as whole.
We at Purnkuti aim to upgrade rural areas by providing basic amenities, creating new opportunities so as to uplift society. Come forward and be a part of solution. Your contribution can make difference to many. As the greatest joy in all of giving is the joy that comes from freely giving.