Eight billion in the world – big problems in India

While many countries plan to reduce birth rates and increase the aging population, India’s population – now nearly 1.4 billion – is growing at a rapid pace.

Something the big cities of India feel, but so far they haven’t been able to take care of.

The growing pains are being felt through overcrowding, substandard infrastructure, poor air and water quality, and stressful noise levels. But despite the unhealthy environment, migration to the cities continues.

Bombay is one of the largest cities of India. Within 30 years, the city had grown by eight million people and became a city of 20 million. By 2035, the city’s population is expected to reach seven million.

It’s worse in the slums. In Bombay, 40 percent of the population lives in squalid conditions confined to slums. Running water, electricity and hygiene are rare here.

The 35-year-old father, Muhammad Sartaj Khan, lives in the notorious Zarfi neighborhood, known from the movie “Slumdog Millionaire”. He still remembers how he saw Bombay when he moved to the city as a teenager, with a perpetual crowd of people.

– Nobody cares about anyone else.

you can’t visit

Khan works in a tannery. The money he earns sends it home to his wife and children in the village, whom he rarely gets to visit. He misses the village he grew up in, but there is no chance of earning enough to support the family.

Major Indian cities also did not have time to adapt to climate change, which they now have to deal with.

According to a report by the Government of India, about 70 percent of sewage in city centers is not treated. Every winter, toxic air pollution covers the capital and New Delhi. Scientists predict that the annual monsoon will become more variable and stronger, contributing to more droughts but also worse floods.

poor people

Ponamen Mutrekha of the Population Foundation of India (PFI) says the government should invest more in the rural economy. She believes it can reduce migration to cities and encourage more people to move to smaller cities.

The poor, especially migrants who have moved to cities, are most at risk of being exposed to climate change, whether the changes occur as a result of weather, floods, jobs or a lack of infrastructure, she says.

India must make a paradigm shift. Instead of complaining, we need to start doing something.