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V

STUDY AREA
&
RESPONDENTS
PROFILE OF SALIA
SAHI
 CHAPTER V

STUDY AREA AND RESPONDENTS’ PROFILE

There are total 377 slums identified m the city containing 3, 08, 614
people with highest concentration m wards 15 and 25 The slum population m
Bhubaneswar is found to be more than 30 percent of the total city population,
which has shown tremendous growth during the last decade The prune factor
responsible towards migration to slums is attributed to the landlessness status of
the dwellers followed by economic problem, irregular work and unemployment at
their place of origin Apart from poor living conditions and health related
problems, slum dwellers also encounter problems of poor cmc facilities, fear of
displacement, irregular work, and insufficient mcome1

Table 5.1:
Trend of Population Growth in the Slums of the Bhubaneswar Municipal
Corporation

Year Number of Households Annual rate of HH Slum Annual Growth rate of

Pockets Growth Population Slum Population
1971 7 NA NA NA NA

1981 23 NA NA NA NA
1989 70 17175 NA 86901 NA
1991 86 21003 11 14 110112 13 35
1993 101 24318 7 89 117000 3 13
1999 145 30000 3 89 200000 11 82
Source CYSD-PLAN International Odisha, Bhubaneswar Report, 2009

The slum population m Bhubaneswar grew at a rate of 11 82 percent every

year, during 1993 to 1999, which was too high, compared to the general population
growth rate Moreover, the population growth m the city slums did not match at all
with the nse in the number of households It was clearly evident that while population
m the slums grew at an annual rate of 11 82 percent, households m the slums grew at
a very low rate of 3 89 percent every year during 1993 to 19992
According to the Environmental Management Plan of Bhubaneswar (2010),
most of the slums of the city are located on unutilized government land or railway

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land, which remained temporarily vacant where development could not be done
immediately The report also states that slums are usually devoid of services, prone to
all types of natural hazards, have poor housing and living conditions and hence can
pose severe environmental problems, including health nsks In the absence of
appropriate economic activity, the ongomg urbanization can lead to economically
separate kitchen and 77 percent households were using open fields as toilet With
mcreased duration of stay, there was an increase m number of migrants living m own
house and there was an overall decreasing trend m case of rented houses Similarly,
probability of having a kitchen mcreased with mcrease m stay duration and the case
was same for private tap and private well users It certainly indicated a positive shift
m the living conditions of slum dwellers with mcrease m the duration of stay 3
The slums tend to provide residing space to the migrant workers but the same
has inherent problems, which makes the life of the migrant miserable No doubt, the
socio-economic aspects of developmental are extremely poor leading to major health
ailments m the absence of lack to safe water & sanitation, unhygienic leaving
condition and thereby affecting the productivity of the inhabitants & the quality of
hfe As most of the slum dwellers live in the unauthorised government plot, they are
debarred from accessmg the civic amenities provided by the government and local
bodies This has resulted m aggravating then problems relating to health, housmg,
employment and degradation of the environment
It is a well-known fact that slum dwellers migrate m search of better
opportunities to improve their economic well-being but in reality find it hard to get a
dwelling place inside the city area, at an affordable rate and either move to the
existing slums or make their own Thus, they are forced to reside m shanty areas or
marginalized land At times, they stay with then relatives m undesirable location
hopmg that the public authorities will not notice their mvasion of public or private
land. They move for many reasons - to find employment, or to escape calamities like
floods, famine and drought Rural poverty is the most fundamental reason for the
great migration to the city The majority of the migrants are farmers and farm laborers
who m their villages lack resources and opportunities for an economically active hfe
Rural poverty is the most fundamental reason for the great migration to the city 4

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 The study area Saha Shai (slum community) was selected under the
Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) for study puipose Saha Shai is the
located on the northeast part of Bhubaneswar city and spread around 215 acres of
unauthorized government land The study area (Saha Shai) consisted with a number
of small squatter settlements It is the oldest and the biggest slum community m the
Bhubaneswar city The horizon of this Saha Shai slum community increasing rapidly
because numbers of people comes from the rural areas to city for search of job and
settle there permanently Because of the cheap rent and easy access to job (daily
wages) and situated heart of die city, it is densely populated and polluted area within
the city However, it is the most polluted and unhygienic area m the city, easy access
to job (daily wages) motivated people to settle there with large numbers Most of the
people of the Saha Shai come under the Bellow Poverty Lmes (BPL)5

Topography
During the physical survey, it has been evident that the entire area is not level
Some of the shelters have been built on the slope of the rocky land or hill During the
rainy season, water runoff to the settlement from the hill The possibility of water
logging although very few due to the settlement located m the slope of the hill but
sometimes sand may cause the blockade of roads and walkways As the Saha Shai
slum located on the unauthorized area and without proper drainage and sewerage,
road facilities, people were facmg enormous problem

Land use Pattern

Consumption of natural resources is always directly proportional to the

population growth More is the population, more is the consumption of natural
resources of Land, water, air, forests etc As the city grows with population and
infrastructures, it destroys the proper land use pattern of the city From the land use
analysis, it is observed that the percentage of the vacant land m Bhubaneswar is
appreciably high The city has a good potential for future development on the Western
side 4

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 7

However, rapid growth m urban population consumes more of land m an

unsystematic manner causmg threat to natural land resources Over consumption of
water, air, and forests are also due to the increase m the urban population m
Bhubaneswar People with low mcome living m informal settlements cannot afford to
pay to the municipal corporation by taking individual water connections to their
houses Therefore, they depend on the public water tap of die community or, tube well
of the locality As they are not paying for consumption of water, they go on misusing
People with low mcome also pollute air by adopting cheapest means of fuel like fuel
wood and coal for cooking purpose Natural forests are also destroyed to spread the
settlements and by collecting wood to use as fuel wood m low-mcome houses 6

Roads and Walkways

In the Saha Shai slum settlement there are several narrow internal walkways
linked with the mam area, as it is an unauthorized area there are no any proper road
and such facility either provided by Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation or state
government Of course, there are many fare weather roads and walkway’s but during
the rainy season, slum peoples are facing lot of difficulties for entering m to them
house. As there are not any drainage facilities, some times m the rainwater over
flowing m to the walkways, road and residence and makes all short of health hazards
within the slum community7

Table 5.2
Showing Slum improvement Activities by BMC

Sl.No. Items BMC

1 Beneficiary list of IHSDP 691
2 Antodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) -

3 Amapuma Yojana 744

4 Onssa Disability Pension (Pension) 5143
5 National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS) 517
6 Swama Jayanti Sahan Rojagar Yojana(S JSRY) 346
7 Acquaintance roll of Trainees for payment of stipend 167
8 NSDP Roads, Dram, Culverts, etc target
9 Valmiki Ambedkar Awas Yojana Houses target
10 Tube wells target
Source ! Bijoymi Mohanty Dynamics of Urban Governance Onssa, REt, IIPM, 2010

171
 MAP.3:
Location of Study Area (Salia Shai) within BMC

State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB)-2010.

172
Source; Field Survey by the Scholar, 2009-10
Photo-1-8: Picture depict on Saliva Shai slum scenario and poor living
condition

173
Areas and Population
Current report, BMC Report shows The Saha Shai slum settlement covers an
area of about 13,908 households with a population of 68,125 m Saha Sahi8 The
density of population is too high m the slum community With the rapid urban
growth, the population rate is increasing day by day As people living m the
unauthorized area, the poor communities were not getting all urban basic services
(water supply, sanitation, sohd/municipal waste collection) and their poverty level
increasing m large scale and environmental condition deteriorating rapidly As per
the field survey it shows that though the communities are not access to any urban
services (water supply, waste collection & sanitation) but easy to get the job and
near to work place compel them to stay with this adverse environmental
conditions The house rent is very low and easy availability contributes towards
increase of the population m short period.9 (See table 4 1)

Table 5J:
High Population growth rate in BMC

Year Population Percentage of growth per Growth Rate per

decade decade
1951 16,512 —

1961 38,211 13141 13 1

1971 1,05,491 176 07 17 6
1981 2,19,211 107 80 10 8
1991 4,11,542 87 73 87
2001 12,45,751 202 70 20 3

Source 01?CB (2003) and Onssa Census Reports, 2001

174
 Table 5.4
Horoscope of the Respondents
SI no Profile of the Respondent Resp. No. %
1 Sex Male 154 86
Female 26 14
2 Age 18-25 years 19 106
26 - 35 years 38 21 1
36-45 years 74 41 1
46 - 55 years 32 17 8
55 years > 17 94
3 Education Illiterate 16 89
Can sign only 25 13 9
Primary 89 494
Secondary 50 27 8
4 Household Size 1-3 41 22 8
4-6 117 65 0
7-8 21 117
9+ 3 17
5 Occupation Govt Service (Salaried) 5 28
Small Trade/Busmess/Shop keeper/Tea
43 23 9
vender
Industrial Labor (Gannent/food
17 94
packaging)
Daily wage Labor 62 34 4
Rickshaw Puller 10 56
Auto Rickshaw/Taxi driver 8 44
Construction Worker 23 12 8
Unemployment 12 67
6 Income Lowest Through 1000 27 15 0
1001 -1500 84 46 7
1501-2000 29 161
2001-2500 19 106
2501 - 3000 10 56
3000 + 11 61
7 Length of stay <5 6 33
6-10 15 83
11-15 10 56
16-20 145 80 6
21 + 4 22
8 Type of house Semi pucca 5 28
Tin shed 12 67
Kucha 145 80 6
Pohthyne sheet/board 18 10 0
9 Ownership pattern Owner-Occupier 171 95 0
Owner-Renter 3 17
Rented 6 33
10 Reason of Stay m SahaShai Near to Work Place 79 43 9
Slum Community Better Housing 53 29 4
Cheap Rent 5 28
Presence of Relatives/Kinship 39 217
Other Reason 4 22
Source Field survey by the Scholar, 2009-10

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Gender Characteristics of the Respondents:
Gender Dimension of the Respondents
As shown m (Table 5 2), that most of the houses hold heads are male (86 %) m
Saha Shai slum communities, which is very common phenomenon m the Onssa as
well m India as male dominated (patnarchical) society In the Saha Shai settlement, it
is necessary to pomt out that during opinion survey, the researcher strategically
selected 14 % of the respondents from the female category with a view to justify
projects aim, whose ultimate goal is to improve environment and reducmg level of
poverty of the dwellers specially the women as a direct beneficiaries and make them
empower by providing credit and other facilities However, the study does not claim
that respondents bemg female sex are the head of the household
Table 5.5:
Distribution of Respondents by Gender
Gender / %
Male 154 86
Female 26 14
Total 180 100 0
Source. Field survey by the Scholar, 2(309-10

Age Level of the Respondents:

As per the respondents Age profile most of the respondents are middle age
people and few numbers of the respondents are young and the old age people are also
very few Only 19 persons (10 6%) of the respondent under age group of 18-25 years
and 17 (9 4%) respondents are from higher age group from 55 years or more
Maximum numbers of the respondents 74 (41 1%) are among age group of 36-45
Smce these people are mostly industrial labor (unskilled manual worker) and whole
family depends on them mcome

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 Table 5.6;
Age level of the Respondent during Field survey
Age Distribution / %

18-25 years 19 10 6

26 - 35 years 38 21 1

36 - 45 years 74 41 1

46 - 55 years 32 17 8

55 years > 17 94
Source Field survey by the Scholar, 2009-10
Education Level of the Respondents
Genera! Education
As per educational attainment of the slum dwellers, a significant proportion of
the respondents (49 4 %) m the Saha Shai slum are primary educated, illiterate 8 9%,
13 9 % can sign only and rest 27 8 % have secondary or higher educated (Table 5 2)
With a vast majority of the respondent’s literacy may cause the lack of awareness that
leads to the deteriorated environmental condition m their settlements
Table 5.7:
Distribution of Respondent by General Education Level
Educational level / %
Illiterate 16 89
Can sign only 25 13 9
Primary 89 49 4
Secondary 50 27 8
Total 180 100 0
Source Field survey by t tie Scholar, 2009-10

Technical Education or Training

To analyze the technical education characteristics of the respondents, it is
found that 93 9 % of the respondents m the Saha Shai Slum settlements do not have
any kind of technical training (Table 5 3) Out of the total respondents only 3 9%

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have technical training up to one year and only 2.2 % have (three) 3-years training
The survey also reveals that due to the shortage of technical trainings most of the
respondents of the study areas are mvolved m the informal activities rather to do a
formal job
Table 5.8:
Distribution of Respondents by Technical Education/ Vocational Training
Experience of the Slum Dwellers
Period/Year of training / %
Up to One year 7 39
Two years 4 22
Nil 169 93.9
Total 180 100 0
Source Field survey by the Scholar, 2009-10

House Hold Size of the Respondents

It appears from die table 5 4 that the average household size m the Saha Shai
slum is 3 91 with a standard deviation of 2 10 and the substantial proportion (64 %) of
them more than 6 (six) family members It is higher than the national urban household
size The mass illiteracy of the household heads and lack of awareness about the
family planning activities are mainly responsible for higher household size m the
study area that aggravated an overcrowded situation in the settlements In addition,
there is not any local NGOs and agency (International & national) who take care of
this slum settlement
Table 5.9:
Distribution of Respondents by Household Size of respondent
Household size of respondent from the Saliva Shai
Slum settlement / %
1-3 41 22 8
4-6 117 65 0
7-8 21 117
9+ 3 17
Total 180 100 0
Source Field survey by the Scholar, 2009-10

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Occupation and Employment Issues
Types of the Occupation of the Slum Dwellers
The table 5 5 exhibits the major occupation of the household heads m the
study areas The table depicts that only 3 32 % of the respondents m the Saha Shai
slum settlements are engaged m government organizations The rest of the
respondents 97 % m the slum community are engaged in the different kinds of
informal job/actmties which mcludes small trade/business such as vender, hawking,
mobile shop keepmg, bittle shop , vehicle cleaning with small payment and other self
- employment like daily wage labour , rickshaw puller, van (driver) puller,
construction workers, household servants etc
The reason for such a high preparation of the household heads of the study
areas to be involved with informal activities due to their illiteracy and shortage of
technical education that do not have a formal job
Table 5.10:
Distribution of Respondents by Category of Occupation of the Dwellers
Occupation / %
Govt Service (Salaried) 5 28
Small Trade/Busmess/Shop keeper/Tea vender 43 23 9
Industrial Labour (Garment/food packaging) 17 94
Daily wage Labour 62 34 4
Rickshaw Puller 10 56
Auto Rickshaw/Taxi driver 8 44
Construction Worker 23 12 8
Unemployment 12 67
Total 180 100 0
Source Field survey by the Scholar, 2009-10
Monthly Household Income of the Dwellers
Income Distribution of the House Holds
It is evident from the table 5 6 that the average monthly mcome of the
respondents m the Saha Shai slum community is 1 720 00 Indian rupees with a
standard deviation of 803 67 The reason behind the lower average mcome of the
respondents of the Saha Shai slum community is due to regular illness and regular

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availability of job, as they are involve in the informal sectors like daily wages and
construction labor work Another mam reason for then low mcome is non-access to
the basic urban services like water supply, waste collection and sanitation
management m that particular area
Most of the people of the Saha Shai slum community covering long distance
and wait for long tune for bucketfiil water (because there is not water connection)
which is mam obstacle for the getting job properly. As most of the live m an
unhygienic condition and without proper sanitary facility, frequently suffer from
health problem Due to the frequent health problem, they louse jobs as well as money
for buying medicine As per the survey (table 5 6) states 46 % of the household’s
monthly mcome is 1000 - 1500 and higher mcome for the area within the range of
2000 to 3000 p/m (117%) because most the people m the slum settlements mvolve m
the informal sectors
Table 5.11:
Distribution of Respondents by Income Distribution of the Households
Monthly Household income of Salia Shai
slum (in Indian Rupees) / %
Lowest Through 1000 27 15 0
1001 -1500 84 46 7
1501-2000 29 161
2001-2500 19 10 6
2501 -3000 10 56
3000 + 11 61
Total 180 100 0
Source Field survey by the Scholar, 2009-10

Dwellers Stay in the Community: Length of Stay

Both of the community are very old that stated m chapter V, Table 5 7 shows
that the average length of stay of the dwellers m the Saha Shai slum community is 30-
35 years (BMC report -1992) years Majority of the dwellers (80 6 %) had been living
m the settlements within the range of (16-20 years) As per table shows very few
people (3 3 %) stay within 5 years, 8 3 % of people stay there from the 6- 10 years,

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5 6% of people living there from 11-15 years living there from the 11-15 years and
rest (2 2%) of the people living within the settlement m the long range of 21+ years
People stayed m the Saha Shai slum community for a long time and then settlement
expanding according to this
Table S.12;
Distribution of Respondents by Length of staying in the Community
Length of Stay (Years) / %
<5 6 33
6-10 15 83
11-15 10 56
16-20 145 80 6
21 + 4 22
Total 180 100 0
Source Field survey by the Scholar, 2009-10
Reason of Staying in the Community
The reasons for staying m the community were also the subject of discussion
From the table 5 8, it is observed that 43.9 % of the respondents m the Saha Shai slum
community mentioned that nearness to work place is the mam reason for staying m
the community Followed by better housing, is another mam reason for them to living
m the community In addition, reason like presence of relatives and kinship (217 %)
are living with the community
Table S.13:
Distribution of Respondents by Reason for Staying in the Community
Reason of Stay in Salia Shai slum / %
Community

Near to Work Place 79 43 9

Better Housmg 53 29 4
Cheap Rent 5 28
Presence of Relati\es/Kmship 39 21 7
Other Reason 4 22
Total 180 100 0

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 From this analysis it can be said that chief rent (2 8 %) and other reasons (2 2
%) is not mam criteria for the poor to stay m that community for a long time Poor
people stay m that settlement mainly that place is near to the work place and dwellers
easily get their livelihood there So, people don’t want to leave this place even poor
urban service facilities provision to them or poor environmental condition prevail
there
Living Status of the Dwellers in the Settlements;
Types of Housing in the Community
Most of the housing structures of the Saha Shai slum community are m a poor
condition that observed during the field survey Table 5 9 demonstrates the result that
over 80 % of houses are made of with Kutcha, followed by 10 % of pohthyne
sheet/paper board, Tin shed 6 7 and 2 8 Sami pucca In our field observation, we
observed that most of the house are made with kucha with mud without proper
ventilation facility and dwellers are living m a worse environmental condition Only
for that reason people suffer lot of health problem
Table 5,14;
Distribution of Respondents by Types of housing Structure in percentage
Housing structure f BMC Slum Communities
Percentage
Semi -Pucca 5 28
Tm-Shed 12 67
Kutcha 145 80.6
Pohthyne Sheet /Paper board 18 10 0
Total 180 100 00
Source Field survey by the Scholar, 2009- 0

Status of the community housing

Table 5 10 reveals that an overwhelming majority (95 0 %) of the households
of the Saha Shai slum are owner-occupiers They occupy the land smce long time and
settled there As it is mentioned before, total Saha Shai slum is belong to
Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (government) So, it is unauthorized area and
people settled their illegally Basically, the dwellers themselves made their house m
accordance with their affordability As, people of the community settle then illegally,

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government official and municipal authority always threaten vacant them to any time
In addition, this area is not provided any types of urban services like water supply,
sohd waste collection and sanitation facilities
Table 5.15;
Distribution of Respondents by Mousing Status of the Settlements
Household ownership / %
Owner-Occupier 171 95 0
Owner-Occupier 3 1.7
Rented 6 33
Total 180
Source Field survey by the Scholar, 2009-10
Social Problem in Saliva Shai Due to Land Ownership and Uncertainty of Jobs:

At present, due to lack of land ownership and uncertainty ofjobs, lot of social
problems like, land occupancy conflicts, gang war, loot, murder cases frequently
occurring m Saha Shai It is also major issues, which affecting the socio-economic
profile of the people As per the observation and discussion with the people, we came
to know that people unable to constructing good houses within the settlements
because lack of land ownership and frequent threat of municipal authority and land
mafia to remove from this area anytime
Hence, the socio-economic condition of the Saha Shai has become degraded,
smce slum inhabitants cannot demand to the city administration or municipal
authorities for civic improvement They are struggling with the existing condition,
such as lack of water connection, waste disposal, sanitation and deteonatemg health
and environmental condition making their life and livelihood worsening
Summary
This chapter illustrates about the Saha Shai Study area and Respondents’
Profile, Topography, Land use Pattern, roads and walkways , areas and population,
gender characteristics of the respondents, age level of the respondents, education level
of the respondents, house hold size of the respondents, occupation and employment
issues , monthly household mcome of the dwellers, dwellers stay m the community,

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living status of the dwellers m the settlements, status of the community housing ,
social problem m Saliva Shai due to land ownership and uncertainty ofjobs
This chapter shown a socio economic profile of the Salia Shai slum
communities and environmental and health condition of the slum dwellers leaving m
the unhygienic sanitary condition

REFERENCES:
1 Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation Report, 2010-11
2 Bhubaneswar Slum Development Programme ,CYSD-PLAN International
Onssa, Bhubaneswar Report, 2009, pp 8-12
3 Environmental Management Plan ofBhubaneswar, OSPCB, Bhubaneswar,
2010
4 CYSD-PLAN International Onssa, 2009 op at, p 18
5 Bibhuti Bank, The Telegraph Report on, “City slum dwellers to get low-cost
houses - Bhubaneswar Development Authority plansjoint venture
redevelopment of215 acre ofSahasahf\ , 24 October 2011
6 Bhubaneswar Urban Development Report, 2007
7 CYSD-PLAN International Onssa, 2009. op cit p 4-43
8 The Telegraph Report 24 October 2011 ibid
9 OSPCB, Environmental Management Plan ofBhubaneswar, 2003

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