Distancing And Isolation Difficult For 40 Crore Indians Living In One-Room Dwellings
While the Government has constantly appealed to the citizens to stay indoors during the 21-day lockdown, data shows 40 crore Indians have only one room to share with other family members and for them, self-isolation is a distant dream.
A 21-day lockdown to stop the spread of the coronavirus has begun in the country. The aim is that people should stay at home and the infection does not spread among people.
However, figures from Census 2011 show that 40 crore people in the country live in one-room dwellings. Evidently, it is not an easy task for them to isolate themselves or practise social distancing. The lockdown experiment could prove effective in Kerala and some other states because over there, 84% population in urban areas and 79% families in rural areas have a house with three or more than three rooms. Similarly, 63% people in Jammu and Kashmir and 40% people in Assam have a house with three or more than three rooms. Over there, while following the lockdown, an entire family could also easily isolate themselves in separate rooms. But this is not possible in the remaining parts of the country because a large population in most states is currently living in one-room dwellings. In Tamil Nadu 48%, in Bihar 44% and in West Bengal 43% population either lives in a one-room dwelling or is homeless. Expecting such people to practise social distancing or isolation will be meaningless because it is extremely difficult to reduce mutual contact between them. According to Census 2011 data, the total number of houses in the country was 24 crore 66 lakh 92 thousand and 667. Among these, more than 9 crore were one-room houses. Also, there was an average of 4.8 members per family. In simple terms, more than 40 crore Indians are presently residing in one-room dwellings. Census 2011 data also shows that 17.7 lakh people in the country were homeless and over 6.5 crore people were compelled to live in slums. Clearly, even if such a large population stays at home due to the fear of the police baton, the risk of infection will not get reduced for them. The World Health Organisation has also said that the coronavirus pandemic cannot be defeated through lockdown. It will only give people some time to deal with the disease.
However, figures from Census 2011 show that 40 crore people in the country live in one-room dwellings. Evidently, it is not an easy task for them to isolate themselves or practise social distancing. The lockdown experiment could prove effective in Kerala and some other states because over there, 84% population in urban areas and 79% families in rural areas have a house with three or more than three rooms. Similarly, 63% people in Jammu and Kashmir and 40% people in Assam have a house with three or more than three rooms. Over there, while following the lockdown, an entire family could also easily isolate themselves in separate rooms. But this is not possible in the remaining parts of the country because a large population in most states is currently living in one-room dwellings. In Tamil Nadu 48%, in Bihar 44% and in West Bengal 43% population either lives in a one-room dwelling or is homeless. Expecting such people to practise social distancing or isolation will be meaningless because it is extremely difficult to reduce mutual contact between them. According to Census 2011 data, the total number of houses in the country was 24 crore 66 lakh 92 thousand and 667. Among these, more than 9 crore were one-room houses. Also, there was an average of 4.8 members per family. In simple terms, more than 40 crore Indians are presently residing in one-room dwellings. Census 2011 data also shows that 17.7 lakh people in the country were homeless and over 6.5 crore people were compelled to live in slums. Clearly, even if such a large population stays at home due to the fear of the police baton, the risk of infection will not get reduced for them. The World Health Organisation has also said that the coronavirus pandemic cannot be defeated through lockdown. It will only give people some time to deal with the disease.
While the Government has constantly appealed to the citizens to stay indoors during the 21-day #lockdown, data shows 40 crore Indians have only one room to share with other family members and for them, #selfisolation is a distant dream@RaGa_reports#coronavirus #COVID_19 pic.twitter.com/dE939TNumF
— GoNewsIndia (@GoNews_India) March 31, 2020
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