Category: Healthcare Projects

History of slums in Kolkata dates back to the colonial era when Calcutta used to be the financial capital of East India Company. Rapid urbanization and industrial growth during the 20th century led to the migration of cheap labour from different districts of West Bengal and adjoining states. Due to lack of adequate and affordable housing, these people settled around industrial sites and vacant areas along roads, canals, drains, railway lines and other marginal lands giving birth to squatter settlements. Even after 150 years, slum dwellers account for one-third of Kolkata’s total population of 4.5 million (as per Census 2011). Over 40% of these people have lived in slums for two generations or longer, and more than half constitute migrants from the hinterland.

According to reports, there are 2011 registered and 3500 unregistered slums in Kolkata housing a population of about 1.5 million. Majority of these slum dwellers, working as domestic workers, daily wage labourers, factory workers, rickshaw pullers, hawkers and security guards, live below the poverty line. The overcrowded and dilapidated physical environment in bustees and squatter settlements further leaves them struggling for survival. Bore well drinking water, poor drainage, unhygienic public toilets and lack of other basic amenities make the slums of Kolkata unfit for human habitation. Such deplorable economic and living conditions are detrimental to the dignity of slum dwellers and make them vulnerable to health risks, such as diarrhoea, dysentery, worm infestation, scabies, malaria, typhoid, dengue, tuberculosis, UTI/RTI, and skin disorders.

Had Mumbai been a word, it would have been the perfect example of an oxymoron with the two contradictory lifestyles led by its people. While Mumbai is the richest Indian city with the highest number of millionaires and billionaires, it is also home to country’s largest slum population of 5.2 million (as per Census 2011). The city’s skyline is dominated by over 3000 high-rise residential buildings; yet nearly half of its total population of 12.44 million still live in tightly-packed shanties with no access to something as basic as toilets. Mass migration has been difficult for Mumbai to absorb primarily because of its peculiar geography and scarcity of land, but more so due to lack of infrastructure facilities and unaffordable housing for economically weaker communities.

With limited access to civic amenities, around 1 million slums across Mumbai are characterised by unhygienic, squalid and overcrowded conditions that pose a major threat to their inhabitants’ health. Open defecation, poor drainage system and unsafe drinking water are the root cause of diseases like diarrhoea, scabies, worm infestation, dysentery, malaria, typhoid, dengue and skin infection prevalent in these slums and squatter settlements. Most of the slum residents work as daily wage labourers, housemaids and Naka workers (informal labourers picked by contractors) and can barely make the ends meet, let alone spend money on healthcare measures.

Home to a population of 4.47 million, Surat is the second largest city in Gujarat and a major hub of India’s textile and diamond industries. Employment options in its signature industries has led to a rapid influx of migrants in the city from all over Gujarat and other parts of India like Orissa, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar. As per the provisional figures of Census 2011, more than 10% of the city population lives in slums; however, this does not include a significant number of non-notified slums that have over 3.84 lakh households. Health assessment studies reveal that the total percentage of slum population in Surat is as high as 40%.

These slum dwellers, living below the poverty line, are generally engaged in daily wage labour, domestic help, rickshaw/auto driving, rag picking and other unskilled/semi-skilled jobs to make a livelihood. However, overcrowding, congestion and unhygienic and dismal physical environment make living conditions grim for them. Lack of civic facilities like drinking water, garbage disposal, sanitation, drainage, and community toilets makes them susceptible to diseases like diarrhoea, dysentery, malaria, typhoid, dengue and pneumonia. Illiteracy, poor hygiene and lack of health-seeking behaviour further add to their vulnerability to health risks.

Over the last two decades, Bangalore has witnessed rapid industrialisation resulting in improved infrastructure and booming technology sector. The growth has created vast wealth for many, but it has also exposed India’s IT capital to migration of people from different parts of Karnataka and other states resulting in increase in the number of slums as well in the city. According to reports, more than 2 million people of Bangalore, who constitute a quarter of its total population of 8.4 million, live in slums primarily due to their poor socio-economic conditions. Most of these slum residents are engaged in construction work or informal labour to make the ends meet.

Reportedly, the city has at least 600 slums and several other unaccounted squatter settlements. The inhuman conditions in these areas deny its residents their right to basic amenities, such as drinking water, sanitation, drainage system, toilets and garbage disposal. Unhygienic conditions, clubbed with overcrowding and poor ventilation, have made these slums a breeding ground for preventable and vector borne diseases like tuberculosis, diabetes, malaria and dengue. Lack of health-seeking behaviour and limited access to health facilities further makes it challenging for vulnerable communities, especially pregnant women and children, to lead a healthy life.