Question

Give your personal response to the following statement.

Rural people prefer to migrate to urban areas.

Answer 1

There are a large number of villages which suffer from major problems such as poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, indebtedness, superstition and the like.

1. Poverty is a socio-economic phenomenon in which a section of rural society is not able to fulfil even its basic necessities of life. A vast majority of the rural population works in villages under the grim shadow of poverty, unemployment as well as pitiable economic conditions. Large portions of the rural poor are small and marginal farmers, agricultural labourers and rural artisans.
2. When compared to the urban population, illiteracy continues to be rampant in rural areas. Primary education is the fundamental right of every child and accordingly, the government has made special provisions (e.g. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan) for the same. High illiteracy rates among children as well as adults continue even to this day because of inadequate budgetary provisions for rural education. The quality of education in rural areas is a matter of grave concern despite various programmes and provisions.
3. Unemployed individuals leave rural places in search of jobs so, as to support themselves and their families financially. Since, Rural India largely depends on agriculture, other economic activities are less hence, unemployment is high.
4. Rural-Urban migration influences the distribution of population within the nation. The number of people increase in the urban areas especially the male population as they migrate in search of job.
5. The technological advancements in an urban area are better which, attracts people to urban areas. Generally, people move to urban areas to increase their social status. Facilities such as education, medical facilities, general lifestyle, entertainment, etc., attract people to urban areas.
6. Due to migration many of our cities have become overcrowded. Overcrowding leads to a chronic problem of shortage of houses in urban areas. This problem is specifically more acute in those urban areas where there is a large influx of unemployed or underemployed immigrants who have no place to live when they enter cities/towns from the surrounding areas.
7. Slums are a serious problem in urban areas. In Mumbai city, almost 50% of the population is found in slums. In spite of the efforts of the Municipal Corporation to rehabilitate these people, the problem remains unsolved. Therefore, Rural people prefer to migrate to urban areas.