Question

Answer the following question in detail (in 150-200 words).

Describe the problems of urban community. What measures do you think can be taken to solve their problems?

Urban community is facing several problems. Elaborate 'any five' problems and suggest measures to solve these problems.

Explain the problems of urban community. Suggest measures to solve them.

Answer 1

1. Problems of urban community
   1. Urban sprawl: Urban sprawl or real expansion of the cities is the root cause of urban problems. In most cities, the economic base is incapable of dealing with problems created by their excessive size. Urban sprawl is taking place at the cost of valuable agricultural land. 
   2. Overcrowding: Overcrowding is a situation in which too many people live in too little space. It is naturally expected that cities having a large size of population squeezed in a small space suffer from overcrowding.
   3. Housing and slums: Overcrowding leads to chronic shortage of houses. It is acute in areas where there is large influx of unemployed or underemployed people who have no place to live. Slums create problems such as higher crimes, anti-social behaviour, unhygienic conditions etc. 
   4. Unemployment: The unemployment rate in urban India is approximately 15-25% of total workforce. The rate is higher among the urban educated.
   5. Beggary: For majority of urban poor, beggary has become a way of life due to abject poverty and lack of education or employable skills. There are organised gangs of beggars in big cities. Also, there are instances of children being kidnapped and then coerced into begging.
   6. Transport: With traffic bottlenecks and congestion, almost all Indian cities and towns suffer from acute transportation problems. They get worse and more complex as towns grow in size.
   7. Water shortage: Today, practically no Indian city gets sufficient water to meet the city-dweller's needs. In Mumbai, water is resourced from rivers and lakes in Thane and Palghar, causing hardship in the lives of inhabitants.
   8. Sewerage problems: Indian urban areas have insufficient and inefficient sewage facilities. Resource crunch and unauthorised city growth are two major causes of this. In most cities, sewerage waste is drained into nearby rivers (as in Delhi) or into the sea (as in Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai), polluting the water bodies. 
   9. Trash disposal: Most cities don’t have proper arrangements for garbage disposal and existing landfills are full to the brim. Also, poisonous liquid called leachate is emitted, which contaminates ground water. People living in nearby areas suffer from diseases like dysentery, malaria, plague, jaundice, diarrhoea, typhoid, dengue and leptospirosis.
   10. Urban crime: The problem of crime increases with the growth in urbanisation. Now, the problem has become complicated as criminals often get protection from politicians, bureaucrats and urban elites. Increasing crimes leads to tensions and insecurity, making city life unsafe.
2. Measures to solve the problems of urban community
   1. The economic base of urban areas could be expanded so that these areas have enough resources to deal with problems caused by their excessive size.
   2. Overcrowding in cities could be avoided by taking measures to reduced migration towards cities from rural and tribal areas. 
   3. Temporary housing facilities can be provided to people who are unemployed or underemployed. The government could also construct houses which are affordable for low-income groups.
   4. Greater employment opportunities could be generated by giving boost to industrial activities as well as tertiary sector. Special assistance could be provided to entrepreneurs. 
   5. Education and vocational training could be provided to people to increase their employable skills. This would help to reduce the extent of beggary.
   6. Transportation networks in urban areas can be widened. Public transport facilities could also be improved.
   7. Various measures could be undertaken to ensure that water supply is equivalent to its demand. People could also be made aware about the need to carefully use available water. 
   8. Adequate and sufficient sewage facilities should be built in urban areas. Enough resources should be allocated for this purpose.
   9. Garbage should be disposed of properly. It should be segregated into dry and wet waste at the domestic and city levels. 
   10. All crimes should be strictly punishable. Those support criminals should also be penalized.