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Urban poverty& Marialaya‘s experience |
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Written by Administrator
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Tuesday, 18 November 2008 |
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In Marialaya’s experience the urban poverty has led to the growth of lot of street and slum population. The growing number of satellite towns are the witnesses of urban poverty. The growing multinational companies and the buying capacity of “Haves” , the ‘Have nots” population is growing. So we witness the crude reality of street community. They do not have a decent living, unhygienic, dangerous situation. They become roofless and rootless. They have no sure means of livelihood. They are banned as antisocial elements. They are grabbed by the antisocial elements and made use for the antisocial activities. They are denied of their right to claim all the rights that are assured in the constitution. They live on constant threat and uncertainty. Naturally the children and women become more vulnerable to social evils. Much worse is the growing technology where everything is instant. So the use of man power is less compare to machine power. Hence many become jobless. The street and slum people are unskilled and daily wage earners. So they are not able to earn adequately for the family. Education, medication, Housing, employment, skill development etc everything is accessible to the rich for these are now commercialized. The street and slum communities have rare access to quality education, quality treatment etc. So the growing dropout rate, the growing unemployment, underemployment leads many to go to bed without a square meal a day. They are used only as vote banks. The situation of adolescent girls, children and women is more worse. The adolescent girls have no safe environment, media has lot of impact on them. Low educational level, lack of proper role model and guide, constant exposure to all unhealthy sexual practices, multipartner sexual activities of the mothers, lack of life skill education leave them more vulnerable to trafficking and abuse and exploitation at all levels. Regarding the economic situation the rich get everything in bulk so as to get the quality products in a reduction rate. But the poor on the street and slum live for a day. So they have to go for retail price where they have to pay fully without any reduction. Even if they are cheated they don’t know the presence of consumer courts. Even if they know they may not be able to fight as they have to loose their wage and ultimately their earning for the family on that day. Any expansion of the city affects the street and slum community. They get evacuated often, their dwelling is burnt overnight. They are the target for communal violence, they are the target for calamity, Their socio economic , political, cultural, spiritual means are never considered, for they are powerless and voiceless as they are kept ignorant of many schemes and the current changes. These are the consequence of the urban poverty Marialaya witnessed for the past 17 years. |
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