Urban Poverty

Urban poverty is not only gruelling hardship, it's degrading.

There is no water for sanitation, continuing the spread of diseases such as typhoid, dysentery, diarrhoea, cholera, Hepatitis A which are related to poor hygiene and the transmission of diseases via the fecal-oral route.

There is the smoke of coal fire to inhale and cook with, but no legal access to electricity or to use for utilities like a basic fan to cool down in the blistering summer heat of 48C Delhi nor if anyone in the enclave is literate or hoping to be, is there any light to study or read with, only kerosene lamps to cast a dim glow on grim lives. Sometimes the shanty residents improvise and 'borrow' electricity and wire coat hangers tricked up onto overhead power lines are not an uncommon sight.

Many of the rural poor come to the cities looking for work. It is a necessity that breaks up families for the short term or in the worst case permanently. Many children miss out on nurturing, schooling, safety, guidance, nutrition and overall health and opportunity.

It's a common sight in Delhi to see makeshift huts anywhere and everywhere. This is a cluster right alongside the highway in the south of the city. Plastic sheets, cardboard, rocks, rope and other cast offs have been improvised to create 'homes' and very loosely speaking, a roof over the residents' heads. A strong gust of wind will blow away most of their homes. If the structures aren't flattened by the authorities in case a visiting VIP's cavalcade might cast their eyes on this blemish on Delhi's beauty, the police will set their sights on them. The police and begging syndicates target the poor knowing they are voiceless, powerless and will comply with their demands for what little cash they have or be put to work on the streets begging for money they'll have to hand over at the end of each day. The women and children are particularly vulnerable to physical and sexual exploitation. If the shanty dwellers last until the monsoons, the rains will soak through their homes and meagre belongings, bringing vermin and mosquitoes, leaving only more filth for the residents to wade through.