Mumbai slum dwellers' sewage project goes nationwide.

On 26 July 2005, when Mumbai was flooded within hours, Savita Das, 35, faced a decision no woman should have to make. Savita's 10-month-old daughter had fallen into the dirty floodwaters and urgently needed to be taken to hospital. The child was already suffering from severe malnutrition and the floods made her diarrhoea and respiratory infection even worse. But as a widow living with her six children in a slum on the edge of the city, Savita had no choice but to watch her youngest child die. She recalled with sadness how she named that child "Lucky" in defiance of the family's already bad fate. "I knew my baby had to be taken to a hospital. But I have five other small children, Who would look after them if I am away for more than a day?" Savita said, referring to her daughters: Sujara, 9, Supriya, 6, and Kantari, 5; and sore: Amar, 4, and Chaman, 2, who were also malnourished and unwell before the floods. "If I take time off from work, how will I feed them?" said Savita, who earns around 50 rupees (about US$ 1) a day, after eight hours of back-breaking work at a scrap warehouse, separating plastic and other products that are used by the recycling industry. Savita's story illustrates one disconnect, among many, that sometimes exists between public health policy and practice. While the Indian government's health policy is aimed at helping women like Savita, in practice such people often fail to access available health-care services for a number of reasons. Addressing this disconnect is vital for making public health services more equitable in developing countries. This was a core issue at the annual meeting of the Global Forum for Health Research in Mumbai, 12-16 September, attended by 700 international researchers and public health experts whose theme was "poverty, equity and health research". The Geneva-based nongovernmental organization (NGO) campaigns for more research and development funding for the diseases of the poor and more funding for research into how to improve service delivery to vulnerable communities like Savita's. Just weeks before the flood hit Mumbai, a local NGO, the Society for Nutrition, Education and Health Action (SNEHA), demonstrated how, in practice, such research can indeed come to the aid of vulnerable and impoverished communities. They and others involved in similar work believe that research into health systems and how they function on the ground can save lives in such communities. In a study of six wards in Mumbai, the NGO identified Bhim Nagar as one of the most vulnerable communities because of its lack of access to basic shelter, hygiene and health care. In the absence of these basic services, the group knew that--even though the slum was not one of the worst flood-affected areas--its people were likely to suffer more than those living in better-served parts of the city. A team of doctors and social workers from SNEHA reached Bhim Nagar on the third day after the deluge. They brought food, medical aid and counselling, but it was too late to save Lucky, who died on 4 August. The group's research findings ring true for Savita. When Savita's mother died because the family could not afford medicines to treat her high blood pressure, Savita's children lost their support system while she and her husband were out working. Seven months later, Savita's husband Kewal, a construction worker, died of gastric-related problems. His daily pay of 60 rupees barely provided the family with a frugal diet of rice and lentils and certainly not enough to buy' the drugs prescribed for him by government hospital doctors. "Savita's inability to access timely health services for her child is a consequence of her circumstances," said Dr Armida Fernandez from SNEHA, calling for the provision of mobile health services to such communities. Savita's family are Bengali speakers who came to Mumbai from Assam. …

This study uses primary data, collected using cluster sampling of sample size of 433 reproductive women who have given at least one live birth prior to survey on antenatal care, reproductive health problems during pregnancy and complications generated while child delivery from Rafi Nagar slum. The paper examines utilization of health services available to study women in slums in Mumbai and checks whether non-utilization of ANC and having reproductive health problems during pregnancy creates complications during child delivery on the basis of standard of living index constructed from household amenities. The findings using logistic regression reveals that those illiterate women did not go for ANC and having reproductive health problems during pregnancy, creates complications during child delivery. Besides, unimaginable low level of health utilization services was observed. This paper suggests that awareness is required at every stages of ANC, particularly to illiterate women for betterment of reproductive health during pregnancy.

Slum tourism is a relatively unknown and controversial niche tourism segment. This form of tourism is mainly found in small pockets around the so-called third world. Slum tourism is famous in the Kibera slum in Nairobi and the Rochina slum in Rio de Janeiro. The largest slum in Asia, the Dharavi slum, became popular notably through the release of the Oscar-winning movie “Slumdog Millionaire” which highlighted the slum in Mumbai and thus brought the much-needed limelight on slum tourism otherwise known as poverty tourism. Slum tourism is the act of visiting low-income settlements also known as Favelas or simply as slums. Slum tourism has received mixed reviews of both a positive and negative character. A negative approach due to the very reason of it being seen as a means of showcasing the poor for the benefit of inquisitive tourists and critics say this form of tourism is voyeuristic and leads to the ill-treatment of slum dwellers. However, slum tourism can also lead to positive outcomes if managed in a sustainable manner it can develop employment opportunities for the slum dwellers. This paper deals with whether or not slum tourism has the potential of being developed in Bangalore, to find out if the much hype about slum tourism in Mumbai has created any demand for this niche market in Bangalore. A quantitative research methodology is used to investigate the matter. A survey and correlation analysis were conducted to delve into slum tours perspective of customers and travel agents of Bangalore. Findings of the study reveal that the potential customers or tourists are keen on taking such tours where as travel agents do not conduct slum tours as the profit margins are low.

Sightseeing in the poorest quarters of southern hemisphere cities has been observed occurring in Cape Town, Rio de Janeiro, Mumbai and many other cities. The increasing global interest in touring poor urban environments is accompanied by a strong morally charged debate; so far, this debate has not been critically addressed. This article avoids asking if slum tourism is good or bad, but instead seeks a second-order observation, i.e. to investigate under what conditions the social praxis of slum tourism is considered as good or bad, by processing information on esteem or disesteem among tourists and tour providers. Special attention is given to any relation between morality and place, and the thesis posited is that the moral charging of slum tourism is dependent on the presence of specific preconceived notions of slums and poverty. This shall be clarified by means of references to two empirical case studies carried out in (1) Cape Town in 2007 and 2008 and (2) Mumbai in 2009.

Nutrient interaction and vitamin A deficiency were studied using several biochemical markers of nutritional deficiency in 100 socio-economically deprived children living in the slums of Mumbai, India. The purpose of the study was to examine whether children with sub-clinical vitamin A deficiency are at risk for nutritional iron and zinc deficiencies. Children were originally identified to suffer from sub-clinical vitamin A deficiency as manifested by the presence of abnormal conjunctival impression cytology for early epithelial changes with/without associated (1) night blindness (XN), (2) conjunctival xerosis (XIA) or (3) bitot's spots (XIB). Twenty five per cent of these children had adequate serum vitamin A levels (>0.698μmol/L) thereby suggesting that vitamin A levels were insensitive for determining likelihood of clinical disease. In contrast Retinol Binding Protein (RBP) measurements more accurately profiled the clinical disease status. All children with sub-clinical vitamin A deficiency had significantly lower RBP values compared to control children. In addition, these children had significant iron-deficiency anemia (hemoglobin 99.5 g/dL) and low serum iron along with low serum zinc compared to control children. These results suggest that malnourished children with sub-clinical evidence of vitamin A deficiency, despite normal vitamin A levels were at risk of inadequate iron and zinc nutriture. Children with sub-clinical vitamin A deficiency should receive vitamin A therapy that includes iron and zinc supplementation. Furthermore, this points to a significant under-reported health problem that impacts intellectual development of many of the world's children.

This paper presents extracts from interviews with slum dwellers, primarily women, in Mumbai and Pune, and discusses the conditions they cope with every day with regard to water and sanitation, and the ways these conditions have changed over time. These women live in a variety of circumstances – on pavements, beside railway tracks, in swampy areas, on steep slopes – and this affects the particular problems they face. But in all cases, dealing with their needs for water and sanitation is a stressful and time-consuming challenge. These interviews provide the kinds of insights that rarely emerge in quantitative studies.

The growth of slums are serious challenge in developing countries. The rapid urbanization is the major cause of growth of slums. The need of expansion of urban area to overcome the housing demand has caused engulfing of many rural areas into their bracket. These rural areas comprised of agriculture fields and rural settlements. The agriculture field are very easily being transformed into other landuses whereas the rural settlement areas demands for high compensation, hence these areas in due course of time are converted into slums. These kind of slums that are transformed from rural to urban village to slum are termed as RURBAN slums in the current paper. The paper attempts to understand the peculiarity of these rurban slums and identify the approach that can be applicable in these kind of rurban slums.

The city of Mumbai is engaged in large‐scale urban restructuring efforts. Foundational to these is the demolition of many of the city's informal settlements and the relocation of residents to newly built housing complexes. Often discussed in terms of dispossession, this process is also one of formalization, with spatial, economic, cultural and sociopolitical implications. This article focuses on formalization's sociopolitical dimension, entailing the registration of residents and the establishment of formal governance provisions and new citizenship expectations. The provision of formal housing and recognized housing tenure has, designedly, been coupled with the establishment of official self‐governance mechanisms leading to new civic responsibilities and reshaping the experience of citizenship among former slum dwellers. We explore these governance arrangements, the interaction between formality and informal governance processes and how these arrangements impact residents’ perspectives on citizenship. We also identify several challenges to effective self‐governance and the ways in which formal and informal processes shape residents’ experiences of community life, citizenship and urban integration. While residents have benefited from some aspects of formalization (e.g. indoor plumbing and codified tenure rights), it has brought additional burdens, and the challenges of self‐governance have, for many relocatees, reproduced a kind of marginalized citizenship within formal structures.

COVID-19 Containment: Lessons From Bengaluru and Mumbai Cities in India

Health care for urban poor falls through the gap

The city of Tanjungbalai has received loans from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to overcome urban slums through the Neighborhood Upgrading and Shelter Program (NUSP-2) which is a continuation of the previous program. In NUSP-2, Tanjungbalai has a loan of USD 3.5 Million to handle approximately 45.21 ha of priority slum areas for 3 years (2015-2017). This study aims to evaluate the implementation of NUSP-2 in overcoming slums in the city of Tanjungbalai. Analytical methods for evaluating urban slums are analyzed qualitatively-descriptively using SPSS. The results of 99 questionnaires distributed to respondents, 55.6% of respondents stated that the construction of concrete roads provides a very good citizen traffic access, 44.4% stated fairly good, 2% stated neutral and 1% stated not good. Similarly, the construction of drainage channels and culverts, 39.4% of respondents stated drainage water flow to be very good, 33.3% stated fairly good, 10.1% stated neutral and 12.1% less good and 5.1% stated not good. In 2015 only about 4.47% of the slum area ae handled or about 15.76 ha. This is because only 7 (seven) villages are able to implement NUSP-2 while 8 (eight) villages are not yet ready to implement NUSP-2. By 2016, the slum area handled is about 79.53 ha or about 22.54%, slightly up from 2015 because 15 villages have implemented the NUSP-2 project. Cumulatively until 2016 only 95.29 ha of slum area is handled or about 27%.

The development of human behavior patterns is an important social aspect that contributes in finding solutions to many of the problems caused by slums, and each slum area has some of the values and characteristics that distinguish it from other regions, since it is possible to maximize those values and exploit them optimally In solving their problems, and although there are some positive behaviors, there are also some negative behaviors among slum dwellers which need to know their reasons of existence and the relentless attempt to help the inhabitants of these areas to overcome them, and work to develop their positive behaviors, which contributes significantly in Overcoming many of the problems caused by the phenomenon of slums.The aim of this research is to analyze study and compare one of the existing slums, and one of the new areas created for slum dwellers, to extract the underlying human values, both positive and negative, in order to maximize interest and avoid negatives when creating new areas for them. This is known as the approach of modifying behavior that will be mentioned in the approaches dealing with the slums and to achieve their psychological and social needs, in parallel with the environmental and physical needs.

Megacities in developing countries are rapidly transforming places. Under the impetus of global change processes and consequent transformations at the environmental, social, cultural, political and economical scales; factors causing disasters and losses are changing every day. These changes are also altering society’s ability to respond to hazard events. This paper examines the response of slum dwellers who are the most vulnerable and marginal section of urban population and often located in places with high hazard risk with less or no means to reduce the impact of flood events. Marginal population groups in megacities suffer the negative consequences of large scale global change processes and do not benefit from the risk mitigation strategies adopted by city authorities. The paper therefore argues that people living in informal settlements instead have to employ a combination of structural means and complex networks of assistance to recover from floods. Based on the results deduced from data collected with the help of household surveys in the slums of Mumbai, the study demonstrates the types of coping strategies used by slum dwellers and the changing characteristics of these mechanisms under the influence of global change processes in megacities. Furthermore, results show that capacity to respond is not equally distributed among slum dwellers due to underlying socio cultural divisions and emerging economic and political constraints. The paper concludes that to address existing discrepancies in urban societies and within slum settlements, flood mitigation strategies will have to be (1) more inclusive of marginal population (2) sensitive to the limitations and scope of old and new social structures and (3) incorporate innovative networks of support to deal with the consequences of global change.

Flat rental housing still be used as an alternative to solve the slums, including in coastal areas. This is indicated in the strategic plan of improving the quality of the environment of the slums by the year 2002-2010 by Director General of Housing Settlement and also include in five treatment approaches to solve the slums (UN-HABITAT, 2005). However, after the implementation of flat rental housing, they still have problems unfinished arise as in the Village Jobokuto, Jepara regency. There are still many slums located around rusunawa and directly adjacent to the beach. The purpose of this study is to examine the influence and ability of flat rental housing to handle slums in coastal areas. The research approach using a quantitative approach. The analysis conducted is the analysis of changes in coastal slums, analysis of the physical characteristics and the availability of facilities to support the needs of coastal communities. The analysis tools are descriptive statistics, analysis of the ratio of the average (paired sample t test and Wilcoxon) and the overlay map. The study used a questionnaire in 65 samples, interviews and documentation of the object as the primary instrument of data collection and study of literature and instansional for secondary data collection. The findings obtained indicate that Rusunawa Kyai Mojo in the Village Jobokuto less effect on handling problems, especially in the coastal slum Village Jobokuto. The result is addressed to relevant stakeholders in order to finish the problem of slums.

This paper examines the adverse effects which slums have on revenue generation through property taxation, with a focus on the Lagos Metropolis. Nigeria is ranked as one of the countries with high slum prevalence. The proliferation of shanty dwellings, squatter settlements and slums in most of our cities in Nigeria is a cause for serious concern. The concept of regeneration is brought forward as a panacea towards curbing the slum formation and expansion process, as well as expanding the property tax base in the process. After a brief look at selected slums in Lagos and property taxation systems, the paper puts forward the idea that through urban regeneration of slums, slum residents experience higher standards of living, with the attendant effect of more money which can be utilized to give properties a face-lift, thereby increasing the ratable value of the properties. With better infrastructure in slum areas, tax assessors are also able to capture more properties in the tax net than, thereby expanding the property tax base resulting in more revenue to the government and with good governance, making more money available for regeneration and the eventual extinction of slums.