Urban Poverty in

Patna

Preface

In the present report on “urban poverty in patna ” , I have mentioned some of the shocking facts about urban

poors and poverty in bihar especially in Patna . For the groundwork I went to the poverty stricken people in

rajiv nagar ,kurji and patliputra colony (all locations are in patna) and interviewed them to gather the information about their problems in daily life and their life as urban poor .

Ashay Jain

3rd Year Undergrad IIT Patna

What is the matter ?

• Bihar is the third most populous state in India.• It is also the poorest of all states with the

lowest per capita income and a massive 41.4% of the population below the poverty line.• The level of urbanization in Bihar is clearly much lower

(10.5%) than the national average of about 28%. Against this, urban poverty is as high as 32.91% against the national average of 23.62%.

(Source : The Changing Face of Urban Bihar)

Situation in Patna

• The majority of poor men and women can be found working as daily wage labourer , domestic worker , sweeper , construction worker , rag picker, beggar .

• Other significant employments include load rickshaw puller , passenger rickshaw puller, garage worker , shoe polisher , street vendor .

• There are many more who are not employed anywhere.

Continued…

• Rural Bihar is home to some of the most poor in the cou-ntry and although much of migration from rural Bihar is out of the State, there is also migration to nearby urban centres specially in the lean season. This seasonal migration is mainly men from the poorest Scheduled and Backward Caste households for 8 9 months in a year, oft-‐en for rickshaw pulling or, to work as construction labour. (Source : State Slum Policy Draft , Gov. of Bihar , July 2010)

Load rickshaw pullers near kurji

Slums in patna

• The condition of slum dwellers is pitiable and marginal and they are further marginalized by poor civic conditions like meager accommodation, choked sewage system, open defecation, open dumping of garbage.

• The human costs for the slums are alcohol abuse, gambling, child labor, domestic violence, poor socialization of children, and unhygienic living conditions.

Slum children near rajiv nagar

Welfare Policies

• Bihar State Slum Policy (2011): within the framework of ‘National slum policy(2001)’ , Bihar government has developed its state slum policy for the welfare of the slums and the communities living in them .

• Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) 2005 : this mission was launched to provide reforms linked central assistance to

state and local governments for the development of urban infrastructure. this mission has following schemes within it :

Urban Infrastructure and Governance(UIG) Basic Services for Urban Poor(BSUP) Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme For Small and Medium Town

(UIDSSMT) Integrated Housing and Slum Development Programme (IHSDP)

Case Study

• Rajiv Nagar : Bhagirath pandit and his family

consisting of about ten people live in the small cottage beside the railway track in rajiv nagar .

Ancestral Occupation : Pottery Due to very low profit , stopped

making the pots ; but they can’t remove pottery from their lives .

They started purchasing pots from Danapur and keeping them outside their hut for sell.

Continued… But they were getting

almost nothing from their kumhaari business. So, the elders of the family took some other kind of jobs.

Ladies started working as maid-servant in the nearby houses , while men serve in Chaai Gumti or, work as labourer carrying bricks on head .

Continued…

• Here is another family living beside the railway track in rajiv nagar.

• Shelter is totally surrounded by Koodaa-Kachra .

• Many people surviving under this small shelter .

• No drainage arrangement In the rainy season the situation becomes pathetic .

Continued…

• Women and her child in their hut in rajiv nagar.

• No pakka floor and makaan.• No sanitation.• No proper drainage facility.• No proper education for

children .• Elders work either as

sweepers or, domestic servants.

Case Study• On the way from sabji -market

to kurji : Child labour is also a serious

problem in patna . Many children can be seen washing plates and serving in line-hotels and Dhabaa , washing vehicles , working as domestic servant ,roaming and selling small things on streets , Picking the rags , polishing shoes , asking alms …

Boy selling sweet items

Old age people : working for survival

Man selling the bhoonjaa . Lady cutting the dried sugarcane waste to use it in the upla.

Continued…• Chhotan rai of sabji market

had been in the business of selling the firewood for more than ten years .

• He comes daily in the morning purchasing the firewood from the woodcutters and sell them Sitting down on jameen .

• Nearby people buy them to use as fuel for food making. Business somewhat increases in winter .

What is required ?

• Policy-makers have to realise the fact that given the rapidly growing population of the urban poor, conventional planning in favour of the privileged sections of city population has to change.

• There must be recognition that slum population are also bonafide citizens like any other sections of the city population, and their needs need priority.

Hope has no limits !

References• State slum policy draft (july 2010)

Urban Development and Housing Department , Government of Bihar .• Economic survey (2010-11), Finance Department , Government of Bihar .• Living rough : surviving city streets by Harsh Mander.• City development plan for patna under JNNURM(Jawaharlal Nehru

National Urban Renewal Mission) , Draft Final Report , Urban Development Department , Government of Bihar.

• “State policy to upgrade slums” , articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com Patna, 22th Dec’2011 .

• “Low-Income Housing for Slum-dwellers” ,www.patnadaily.com , Wednesday, 21 December 2011 , 23:16.

• “Proposal to develop 56 slums in 28 Bihar towns”, daily.bhaskar.com/article ,Bihar.

Thank You