ikakar@georgeinstitute.org.in

Consulting with the communities

Consulting with the communities “What did you have for tiffin (breakfast)?” This question brings a smile to the faces of the people sitting in for community meetings of the Urban SHADE project. In these meetings that started in February 2026 are conducted in the community, the Vijayawada-Guntur team and the Shimla team discuss the findings and the proposed intervention of the Urban SHADE project. The meetings have been set up in people’s houses within the community which they have generously opened for the Urban SHADE team, despite houses being small and cramped. In Guntur and Vijayawada, the hosts removed the cot from the house to make space for the duration of the meeting. In Shimla too, a friendly person’s house, public spaces such as grounds, or Anganwadi centres or even the lobby of a residential building were used for these meetings. We are grateful to everyone who helped us organise these meetings. The meetings were conducted with different groups from different sites of the settlement- women, old persons, persons with disabilities, outdoor workers and those with chronic illnesses. In Shimla, meetings were also determined by the location- such as upper part of settlement, and the lower parts, and some occupational groups such as municipal sanitation workers. In Vijayawada and Guntur, the team hung relevant photos and distributed some photos among the participants that helped spark discussion among them. There were photos of cracked walls of houses, hospitals, garbage on the road, newspaper headlines of floods, flood warning messages or illustrations depicting heart illness among others. This technique helped a great deal in communicating the findings of the qualitative research including focus group discussions and in-depth interviews, especially since many of the participants were illiterate or semi-literate. Persons who participated in these meetings discussed the garbage in their areas, what happened during the floods, or their experiences in public hospitals or private clinics. Many people who attended the meetings said that they saw the messages sent by the government on flood warnings for the first time. They spoke about how they barely got food or water during the heavy floods in 2024. The community members also suggested their ideas for possible interventions. In Shimla, the team presented an illustrated flow chart with the findings, gaps and the planned intervention activities. The team explained that the qualitative study presented cardiovascular diseases, musculoskeletal problems, skin disease, alcohol and drug addiction as problems facing the community. There are also increased out-of-pocket expenditures due to lack of ambulances and unavailability of medicines in government hospitals. The distance of the hospitals deters people from going there, especially older persons who are unable to walk up to main road, often leading to them missing out on follow-ups. Both informal settlements in Shimla do not have functional Primary health centres. Pregnant women and children have to go to hospitals further away to get basic check-up or immunisation. People reflected on how they are unable to sleep when during heavy rains. While they do get flood messages, they have no idea what action should be taken. The team also presented a general lack of awareness about the diseases caused due to extreme rainfall, and suggested interventions. These meetings helped validate the findings and also get buy-in from the community for the intervention activities still being planned. In Andhra Pradesh the team includes researchers Pavani Pendyala and Hemanth Chandu, field coordinator Satyanarayanamma Methukulla and community co-researchers Dasari Madhavi and Maddela Siva Parvathi. In Shimla, the team includes researchers Inayat Singh Kakar, Dr Yetika Dolker, and field coordinator, Sahil Kumar.

Musings

Nowhere to go

Nowhere to go Dr. Abu Conteh It’s 12pm on a bright beautiful Monday morning, and the sun is beginning to get ahead of me. I am visiting the Soja town section of the Moyiba community to talk to Sia, whose house was recently destroyed by a mudslide. Moyiba is one of the most deprived informal settlements in Freetown, which is also exposed to multiple hazards including mudslides. Sia is a single mother of three who makes a living from stone mining. As I ascend the over 600-meter-high hill, I couldn’t help but wonder how women in this rugged part of the community deal with climate hazards and access healthcare. In the past years, women in this section of the community have had to deliver babies by the side of the road as they couldn’t make it to the only government health clinic in time about 3 kilometers away. Transportation here is a challenge, as motor bike riders complain of rugged roads. As I arrive at Sia’s home, she greets me warmly and offers me a seat in her delipidated single bedroom mud house that was destroyed by a huge boulder (in 2025). The house is now a relic of the original two-bedroom house built by her husband who died two years ago. “The destruction of the house has changed my life so badly”, she said. She recounted her daily horrors of having to live in a leaking house or rebuilding it withher meagre income. “I can barely feed by children, let alone rebuild this house.” As I looked around, I could see that most houses here are built with mud bricks, which makesthem vulnerable to extreme weather events such as flooding and mudslide. Sia recounts she is not the only woman affected. ‘‘Last year, one woman lost two children because of a mudslide,” she said. While she feels the community is not safe, she is worried about having to leave a whole life behind that she has built for over a decade. ‘‘I have nowhere to go. We are not offered any help by the ‘’big ones.’ No one has helped me since my house got destroyed,” she said.

Musings, Uncategorized

No future

Menaka Rao Ashu waited for me outside the hotel. He is a skinny man, and was visibly uncomfortable standing in the lobby of the hotel. He insisted on meeting me in the hotel, and not in Krishna Nagar, where he lives. He says his father was a municipal waste worker. But he drank so much that the children could not go to school. Ashu dropped out of school in his 7th standard. He became a contractual waste picker after his father’s death. “There is no future in this work, Madam,” he told me, shaking his head. He feels the futility of his job, while not being able to see a way out. “I just don’t want to go to work, especially during the monsoon. The waste which I carry on my back just gets right into my clothes and trickles down my body. There is dal, curry, all kinds of food,..,” he said, trailing off and making a face full of disgust. His school-going son asked him one day why he did waste work. “I felt very bad that day,”he said. During one monsoon, about ten years ago, his family had to leave the house, built by his grandfather, because it got dangerous. The floor of his house cracked further and further, threatening to collapse. “We kept thinking the floor would stop caving, but it kept getting worse,” he said. They now live in a rented premise, cutting into their meagre income. So when he fractured his leg this year because of an accident at work, he had to borrow nearly Rs 20,000. He was out of work for three months. “There is no future in this work, madam,” is his only refrain.

Blog

Lessons from margins: Insights from visit to Shimla’s Krishna Nagar

Lessons from margins Insights from Urban SHADE team visit to Shimla’s Krishna Nagar Looking at the paved roads and cemented houses at the beginning of Krishna Nagar settlement in Shimla, the first reaction of Urban SHADE members from Sierra Leone and Kenya was- “This place does not look like an informal settlement.” Krishna Nagar is an informal settlement at the heart of Shimla city. The Urban SHADE consortium visited Krishna Nagar during the Annual General Body Meeting on November 30. The consortium members were first trying to size up the differences and similarities between their field sites and Krishna Nagar. The settlement was built during the colonial times to house waste workers and other labourers. People in Krishna Nagar do not have land tenure. “The structures in Krishna Nagar looked stronger. The houses in our settlements are not as strong. In fact, even with a bit of heavy wind, the houses can be destroyed,” said Tena Kabba from Institute of Gender and Children’s Health Research (IGCHR) in Sierra Leone, which works with three informal settlements in Freetown for the project. The consortium members from Sierra Leone felt that Krishna Nagar with its steep slopes and steps resembled Moyiba a little. But as the members walked down towards the lower part of the settlement which is right at the edge of the hill, the challenges became apparent. Though the houses look well taken care of, some of them even have a small garden in front of them, many of them have big cracks. “My first thought was, is this really an informal settlement?,” said Michelle Koyaro from Slum Dwellers International, Kenya. “We then saw the housing conditions. The walls of many houses are full of cracks. It places them in a vulnerable state. They are not sure if they will be able to live in the house next monsoon. I realised that if someone does not know the context definition of informal settlement, they will quickly cancel Krishna Nagar as informal settlement. ” And indeed, many houses have collapsed at the edge of the hill during the 2023 landslide when the Slaughterhouse collapsed. The consortium members met a man who sent his family to his native place but continued to live in a house perched at the edge of the hill. He said he had no option because he had to make a living in Shimla. What struck many Urban SHADE members is how much people invested in the houses. The houses are by and large cemented, and many have taken effort to even have a garden in a small strip of land. The roads in the upper part of the settlement were built by the municipal authorities. The consortium members then saw older persons trying to walk up the stairs, as well as houses with big cracks perched precariously at the extreme lower part of the settlement, at huge risk of being washed out by rains. Dr Jiban Karki, from Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) said that the lower parts of the settlement were revealing. “I visited Krishna Nagar twice. But this time we went further down, where we saw all the cracked houses. We found that people were still living there despite the danger. There was another vulnerable population who were living in rented houses. Towards the top of the hill in Krishna Nagar people were relatively better off, then those in the lower range.” Dr Karki spoke about meeting some Nepali origin people in the lower parts of the settlement who lived on rent, in houses that were more precarious. As the consortium members tried to climb up the stairs they realised how difficult it is. ”I kept thinking about how many elderly people live there. As young as I am, I was barely able to climb the stairs. Even if there is a car available, it is hard to get to the main road,” said Dr Desta Ali, from IGCHR. Many wondered how pregnant persons and those with disabilities climb stairs everyday. Some of the Urban SHADE team members met an elderly lady who had great difficulty climbing a steep flight of stairs. She took breaks sitting down at the side of the stairs while walking up with a stick.She sought help from some teenagers passing by. The consortium also saw the building of the primary health centre (PHC) which is currently non-functional. The older PHC which was there earlier collapsed more than a decade ago during the monsoon. The team from Sierra Leone and Kenya observed that they had a functional health facility within most of their settlements they are working with for the Urban SHADE project. The ASHA workers present in the meeting also raised various problems people in the community faced because of PHC. Dr Ijeoma Onyeahialam, who works with LSTM observed, “In relation to Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), the community falls short because of the community’s lack of access to health care. The PHC is not working. After going into the community more, you can see how pregnant women are disadvantaged. This also helps various country teams to see how they can compare and see similarities.” The consortium members also had a meeting with community leaders and ASHA workers at Valmiki temple said to have been established in the early 1900s. Valmiki is a patron saint for Dalits. The discussions ranged from lack of land tenure, caste discrimination and access to healthcare. The community leaders of Krishna Nagar spoke about how the government keeps trying to evict them, as it falls on prime land. “Just before the elections, the political leaders promise that they will ensure we will be granted land tenure. But after elections, these promises vanish,” said Kuldeep, who is with the Valmiki Sabha The teams from Sierra Leone and Kenya said that it’s just the same situation in their hometowns with informal settlements. Except, the people working in the settlements there refrain from investing their money in building a better house because of the fear of eviction. “People

Musings, Uncategorized

Bahari

Bahari Bessie Sarowiwa She’s big, she’s blue, she’s bold. She’s Bahari. For many years Bahari gave life to many and offered refuge to many more in Tudor Moroto, like a mother. She’s watched us grow up and was always there when we needed her. We played with her when we were kids and learned to swim in her cool waters. She gave us a place to relax when the heat was unbearable. She provided food for us when our parents came back with nothing. She liked having us around and never complained. But not anymore. She has changed. She doesn’t seem happy these days and the glow that she once had is no longer there. The beautiful blue she once had is now more of a blue green. And the cool breeze she would give us when heat was unbearable is now just hot air and a stench. The food she shared with us has dwindled and it appears that all the fishermen catch now are plastic bags and used diapers. The places we would go to play with her are now places we warn visitors about because they never know what they may step on. All the people that relied on her for their basic needs are now struggling to even get through the day. It breaks my heart. How did we end up here? Bahari, did we do this to you? That’s what everyone is saying. That our actions are what made you this angry. We cut down the trees that fed you and kept you clean to build houses. You were nice to us but instead we paid you back with food and sewer waste. You’re now threatening to leave us. Please don’t give up on us, Bahari. We’re trying to do better. We’re learning from our mistakes. It might be a little late but it’s the least we can do.

Events

The Urban SHADE Annual General Meeting 2025

The Urban SHADE Annual General Meeting 2025 On November 25, we kicked off the first Urban Shade Annual General Body Meeting in Himachal Pradesh’s Mashobra in India. Colleagues from Sierra Leone, Kenya, UK travelled to India for the meeting. It was a week of reflections on the field work on how extreme weather events impact health and health systems in relation to people living informal settlements. Menaka Rao, the project communications lead kicked off the week with a communications workshop focused on the kind of stories that can be told from fieldwork as part of communication dissemination. Some of the writing from this workshop is published here. The Urban SHADE members from all three countries presented Case Studies of the settlements the project is working with. Across the three countries, communities who experienced heat stress and extreme rainfall felt that the health systems were falling short and communities devising their own ways to cope with effects of climate change. The Principal Investigators (PIs) gave them different perspectives on how to understand the effect of climate change in the health of communities. Dr Rachel Tolhurst from Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) urged teams to think through the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) framework on risk and vulnerabilities to think about the vulnerabilities and risks faced by the informal settlements in each of the countries. Dr Surekha Garimella from The George Institute of Global Health in India spoke about the structured approach of Process Evaluation as a way to assess the effectiveness of the implementations. Dr Jiban Karki talked to the teams about the monitoring, evaluation and learning – MEL- framework for the Urban SHADE project. Dr Ijeoma Onyeahialam discussed how the framework of Theory of Change will help the teams shape their interventions better. The teams also presented possible interventions, which were sharpened over a period of days to become more specific and realistically possible to implement in this year. The team went to Krishna Nagar on a field trip. The had a walk-around in the settlement, and also had a meeting with community leaders of Krishna Nagar and community health workers in the Valmiki temple there. After the meeting, the teams focused their energies on the Writing workshop conducted by the PIs. The workshop ended on December 5 with all the teams decided the topics on which they can write papers based on their field work.

Musings

Battered and bent, but still standing

Battered and bent, but still standing Desta Ali Down the long, steep, steps of Susan’s Bay stands a tall, green five-storey building. It looks weathered and worn, but it stands stubbornly and quietly. During the day it is virtually empty, but I’m sure it houses more than hundred people at night. There is a lot of cracks in its concrete; its roof is made of rusted metal sheets. The building tells a story of time. Every time I look at it, I hear it say, “I have survived many floods, yet I am still standing. I am a survivor.” It almost makes me fall in love with it, because it reminds me of myself, standing tall in the midst of trials, keeping my head high, and trying very hard not to crumble. The glasses on the windows are broken, yet the bars are still holding on, almost as if fighting hard to maintain security. The top floor of the building is unpainted. That means it has been added recently to create more space for more people. The bottom floor is incomplete and wrapped with tarps and more rusted metal sheets. It was possibly built as a garage but is now being used as an accommodation for a desperate family. This tells a story of greed, because someone has decided that making money from rent is more important than the safety of people. I admire the building for all it has gone through and all that happens within its walls. But I also feel sorrow and dread. I know it’s only a matter of time before it crumbles. The land it is built on is a coastal land and not meant for buildings. I am sure its foundations were not made to carry that much weight. I always ponder how many more floods can it survive? How much more erosion can its foundations take? My only hope is that when that day arrives, it will happen during the day, when no one is home.

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शिमला की बस्तियों में सर्वेक्षण करने का अनुभव

शिमला की बस्तियों में सर्वेक्षण करने का अनुभव साहिल कुमार 2021 में, मैंने अपनी ग्यारहवीं और बारहवीं लाल पानी स्कूल, कृष्णा नगर से की थी। मुझे मेरे घरवालों ने बताया था कि किसी के साथ काम से हटके बात नहीं करनी है, और किसी से लड़ाई झगड़ा नहीं करना है। घर के बड़े मानते हैं कि वहां लोग जल्दी लड़ाई झगड़े में उतर आते हैं, पर मेरे साथ स्कूल के दौरान कभी ऐसी कोई घटना नहीं हुई। सितंबर महीने में जब मैंने Urban SHADE प्रोजेक्ट में काम करना शुरू किया, तभी यही धारणा मेरे मन में थी। मेरी टीम का काम था कि घर-घर जाकर सर्वेक्षण करना। हम पूरे सात लोग ये काम पर लगे थे। इस प्रोजेक्ट में काम शुरू करने के बाद, कृष्णा नगर के लोगों और जगह के बारे में मेरी धारणा और अनुभव में आया बदलाव। हमने Urban SHADE प्रोजेक्ट हिमाचल प्रदेश के शिमला की अनौपचारिक बस्तियों में घरेलू स्तर पर सर्वेक्षण से संबंधित आँकड़े एकत्र करना शुरू किया। हम दो बस्तियों – कृष्णा नगर और ईदगाह कॉलोनी – में काम कर रहे थे। घरेलू सर्वेक्षण का उद्‌देश्य अनौपचारिक बस्तियों में रहने वाले लोगों के स्वास्थय पर पड़ने वाले प्रभावोंऔर कमज़ोरियों को समझना है। साथ ही चरम मौसम की घटनाओं के दौरान और उसके बाद सार्वजनिक स्वास्थय सुविधाओंमें उपलब्धता को भी समझना है। यह मेरा पहला काम था। मेरा, शुरुआती अनुभव बिल्कुल ना के बराबर था लेकिन पहले ही दिन से नई चीजों को सिखने पर ध्यान दिया। जब पहले दिन हम अपने क्षेत्रों में पूरी टीम के साथ गए तो हमने देखा कि कृष्णा नगर में रास्ते सीधे नही है और बहुत सी सीढ़ियाँ है। यहाँ पर लोगों के घर बहुत पास-पास है, और भारी बारिश के दौरान लोगों के घरो के जल निकासी की स्थिती बहुत खराब है। कृष्णा नगर के लोगों का कहना यही था कि बहुत से लोग आते-जाते है और सर्वे कर के चले जाते है। परंतु कोई हमारे लिए कुछ भी नहीं करता। मैपिंग की समस्याएं हमें ट्रेनिंग के दौरान मैपिंग के बारे में बताया गया। सर्वे के पहले मैपिंग जरूरी थी ताकि कृष्णा नगर की भौगोलिक स्थिति के बारे में और घरों की स्थिति के बारे में अच्छे से पता चले। दोनों क्षेत्र- कृष्णानगर और ईदगाह पहाड़ी क्षेत्र हैं,और रास्तों में उतार चढ़ाव बहुत है। मेरे सीनियर्स और टीम मेंबर्स को भी कृष्णा नगर में मैपिंग के दौरान ऊपर नीचे चढ़के थकान का सामना करना पड़ा। हम सोच में पड़ गए कि यहाँ के लोग, विशेष रूप से बुज़ुर्ग लोग, कैसे रोज चलते फिरते होंगे। सर्वे के दौरान हमें बुज़ुर्ग बताते थे कि उन्हें नीचे से कार्ट रोड पहुँचने में बहुत समय लगता है। बहुत से बुज़ुर्ग डंडा पकड़कर, बीच में बैठ-बैठ कर धीरे-धीरे ऊपर तक पहुँचते हैं। मैपिंग में मुझे कई जरूरी चीजों का ध्यान रखना पड़ता था। कोई घर छूट ना जाए। लोगो से रास्ते को पूछना या कौनसा घर किस से जुड़ा है। कृष्णानगर में पालतू और आवारा कुत्तों का डर बहुत ज्यादा था। हमें डर था कि ये आवारा कुत्ते हमें ही काट न दें। हम लोगों को पूछ कर ही गालियों में जाते थे। जिन घरों में पालतू कुत्ते होते थे वह उन्हें पकड़कर या बांधकर रखते थे। हमने सुरक्षित होकर मैपिंग का काम चालू रखा । मैपिंग में हमें एक ही गली में कई बार आना जाना पड़ता था। शुरुआत में थोड़ी थकान के साथ समय वाला काम लगता था। फिर मुझे इसकी आदत होने लगी। मैंने मैप के चित्र का ज्यादातर काम खुद ही किया है। मैप को पहले मोटे तौर पर बनाया और फिर उसे बड़े चार्ट में लैंडमार्क लिखकर तैयार किया।यह काम मुश्किल था क्योंकि गलीयाँ कहीं न कहीं एक दूसरे से मिलती हैं। इस दौरान, मैं और मेरी टीम घंटों वाल्मीकि मंदिर में बैठकर काम करते थे। वहाँ का माहौल अच्छा था और लोगों को हमारे काम के बारे में जानने में दिलचस्पी थी। मुख्य घरेलू सर्वे की शुरुआत पायलटिंग के दौरान मेरी एक परिवार से बात हुई। इन लोगों ने 2023 में स्लॉटर हाऊस के हादसे को अपनी आंखों से देखा। उन्होने अपने घर के साथ लगती नालियों और बुरी जल निकासी (drainage) के बारे में बताया। उन्होंने बारिश के दौरान अपने घर को छोड़ने की स्थिती और अनुभव को मेरे साथ साझा किया। एक और दुखी परिवार के अनुभव को भी मैने सुना था। उन्होनें कुछ साल पहले नया घर खरीदा था जो कि 2023 के स्लॉटर हाउस क लैंडस्लाइड (landslide) हादसे में तबाह हो गया।आज उस परिवार को किराए के घर में अपना जीवन यापन करना पड़ रहा है। सर्वे के पहले दिनों में मेरा अनुभव ठीक रहा और लोगो से बात करके अच्छा लग रहा था। सर्वे के तीसरे दिन, जब मैं एक आदमी से सर्वे के सवाल पूछ रहा था, उन्होंने घर के संबंधित सवालों के बारे में बुरा मान लिया। उनका व्यवहार मेरे प्रति बहुत अच्छा था परंतु उनको सर्व के कुछ प्रश्नों से थोड़ी परेशानी थी। उन्होंने सर्वे रोकने को कहा और उन्होंने मुझे डेटा टैबलेट से मिटाने को भी कहा। कुछ देर के लिए उन्होंने टैबलेट मेरे हाथ से लेकर उसमें कुछ देखने भी लगे। इसके बाद में हमारे टीम के सीनियर ने कृष्णा नगर के वाल्मीकी मंदिर वहाँ के निवासियों के साथ बैठक की । उन्होंने सर्वे के बारे में अच्छे से समझाया। इस बैठक से लोगों को समाधान मिला और सर्वे सामान्य तरीके से चल पड़ा। और उसके बाद वाल्मिकी सभा के लोगों ने हमें सर्वे के लिए और ज्याया प्रोत्साहित किया। लोगों को दिक्कत व परेशानियाँ लोगो का मेरे प्रति व्यवहार अच्च्छा रहा। लोग जानकारी देने के लिए पूरा समय देते थे और अपने पूर्व प्रभावो को हमारे साथ साझा करते थे। लोग अपनी गंभीर बीमारियों के बारे में भी हमारे साथ जानकारी साझा करते थे। लोगों ने बताया कि कार्ट रोड तक आने-जाने से जोड़ों में दर्द होता है।यहाँ का नाला कूड़े से भरा रहता है, और जो लोग नाले के पास रहते हैं वे इससे ज्यादा परेशान रहते हैं। इससे वर्षा के मौसम में समस्या आती है और बीमारियाँ पैदा होती हैं। कृष्णानगर में ऐबुलेंस की सेवा भी ना के बराबर है। मौसम के कारण

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GUNTUR

Guntur Guntur, which lies next to Vijawayada, is also an old city with its municipality being established in 1866. It is famous for its chillies, attracting labourers from the state and outside state. In Guntur, the project will work in Sarada colony. Sarada colony Sarada colony is located in the north-western part of Guntur city, adjacent to a large swamp. Though people here claim to have lived here for at least two generations, they do not hold legal land titles. There is a looming threat of eviction at all times. The people living here are mostly from Scheduled Caste/Dalit or Scheduled Tribe communities, most of whom identify as Christian. The community depends on a variety of informal and precarious jobs, earning about ₹200 to ₹300 per day. Men are mostly engaged in catering services on a daily wage basis, while women are involved in waste picking, hair selling, and home-based work like plucking chilli tips. Hair selling involves bartering some objects such as kitchen items for hair women shed, and then selling those to people who make extensions or wigs. This occupation, like many others this community engages in, becomes difficult during monsoons. Since work is seasonal, the people here also borrow money and often are in debt. Houses, which appear to be built by residents themselves, are packed in narrow lanes that allow at most a two-wheeler to pass through. Many houses have roofs made of tin or cement sheets, while others are semi pucca structures, that is a combination of temporary and permanent materials, such as bricks with tin or cement sheets. This area is subject to extreme heat waves and flooding. These houses provide little shelter from both these extreme weathers. During heavy rains, the entire stretch gets submerged in water up to knee level for sometimes up to five days. The lack of drainage systems keeps the water stagnant for days, increasing risk of mosquito-borne diseases and water-borne diseases. The tin sheets trap heat inside, making indoor conditions unbearable, especially for the elderly and children. While most households have individual toilets, the lack of a proper drainage system severely affects sanitation. The main sewage channel that runs parallel to the settlement overflows frequently during rains, leading to widespread flooding and waterlogging in the lanes. During such episodes, household and human waste enter the lanes and sometimes into homes, posing serious health risks. The absence of covered drains and stormwater channels exacerbates these problems. Garbage collection is irregular and often fails to cover the entire stretch. The waste, when not collected, accumulates in street corners or in the swamp, further polluting the environment. People also complain of mosquito infestation in the area. While most people have municipal water connections, the water supply is irregular. During the monsoon, the tap water is often contaminated. People here buy 20-liter cans of water at ₹10 each from private suppliers who claim to sell purified water. The cost adds up significantly, especially for larger families and during times of illness. In 2023, there was an outbreak last year due alleged water contamination with more than 100 people from different parts of Guntur, including Sarada colony were rushed to the hospital with symptoms of diarrhoea, vomiting and fever. A young girl, barely 18 years old, from Sarada colony died in this outbreak. Some of the packaged-water producing units were closed down by municipal authorities as a result of the outbreak, claiming that they were unauthorised. When people who live here fall sick, they first head to a local pharmacy and get medicines (even prescription medicines can be easily procured in local pharmacies in India). They also turn to RMPs, who are private allopathic providers that do not have a medical degree recognised by the state. The community members claim that these providers provide “quick relief” usually in the form of an injection, which according to them, provides fast recovery. Two years ago, a new Urban Primary Health Centre (UPHC) was established nearby. As awareness has grown, residents have started to visit the UPHC, and some staff reportedly provide referrals to higher-level public hospitals when necessary. Despite this progress, there remains a strong mistrust toward public hospitals, especially the Government General Hospital (GGH), Guntur. Residents complain about long waiting hours, poor staff behaviour, and the expectation of informal payments for services. These barriers discourage them from seeking formal care unless necessary. Common health complaints in the settlement include musculoskeletal pain, especially knee and back pain, due to the nature of their work. Fevers are also common, particularly during monsoons, when stagnant water and poor drainage create breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

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Shimla

Shimla Shimla, the hill-top city, was the British Summer Capital. In the 19th to early 20th century, the upper slopes of the hill were developed for Imperial buildings, residences, and commercial centres. The lowest slopes of the hill settled Muslim and lower caste migrant people who worked for the city. It provided spaces for working class houses, godowns, cattle sheds, coolie quarters among others. Perched on a delicate ecosystem These areas now are at constant risk of environmental hazards such as floods, landslides and forest fires. Urban SHADE project will work on the biggest informal settlement in Shimla – Krishna Nagar- which grew during colonial times, and the relatively newer informal colony of Eidgah Mohalla in Ruldu Bhatta. Krishna Nagar Krishna Nagar is among the oldest settlements in Shimla, and was established during the British colonial rule. While the British elite built grand residences on the upper slopes of Shimla, the working class, mostly Muslim and lowered caste migrant people settled in the lower slopes of the hill or “Below Cart Road.” These persons who served the British empire were tailors, butchers, sweepers, coolies, blacksmiths, shoemakers etc. The area got a new name- Krishna Nagar after India got Independence in 1947. The locality came up on construction debris, near the sewers and slaughter houses. The area got a new name- Krishna Nagar after India got Independence in 1947. Perched delicately on the steep lower slopes of Shimla, it is now at constant risk of hazards such as floods, landslides and forest fires. Many people here are from the lowered caste category. The residents here work in construction, casual labour, sanitation workers under municipal contract, tailor, shop assistant, small food vendor or kiosk operators. This colony has a famous Valmiki temple visited by hundreds during Valmiki Jayanti. Many families have been living for generations, but most of this area is still informal as most of the residents do not have formal papers for their houses, which are built on deemed forest land. The residents face constant threat of eviction and court orders directing demolition of unauthorised structures. Most of the houses are on encroached lands, and some families have rented houses. Despite the long history of this settlement, Krishna Nagar faces has not been planned and has poor services. It is a landslide prone area worsened by unregulated construction on fragile slopes and aged infrastructure. While many people have invested in building concrete houses, some houses are makeshift. Despite this, many houses have structural cracks, inadequate roofing and unsafe foundations. Some have even been declared unfit for habitation. Krishna Nagar had a government Primary Health Centre (PHC). In 2013, the PHC collapsed during the landslide after extreme rains. The ward is now left with a small privately run dispensary known as Gurudwara Singh Sabha dispensary. A building for a new PHC has been made, but the health facility is not operational yet. People with any health issue, big or small, usually end up going to Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Zonal Hospital (secondary level) or Indira Gandhi Medical College (tertiary level). Since they have to go to higher hospitals for smaller health issues, it results in overcrowding and long waits in the hospitals. These invariably result in loss of wages. During health emergencies, when ambulances are called for, people have to climb steep slopes and stairs to reach the main road where ambulances can be parked. The pathways inside the colony are too narrow and steep, and can at most allow two wheelers in some parts. These narrow lanes, and insufficient turning radius make it impossible for fire tenders to Krishna Nagar’s areas. There are no functional drainage or sanitation systems. Drains are open and get chocked during rains leading to contamination, and increasing the risk of waterborne and vector borne diseases. Many houses are built next to the old British-era nalah or drain. During the rains the drain water often flows into the house. Residents complain that municipal workers do not clean their area, resulting in blocked drains. Houses are built next to these open drains. While many people have invested in building concrete houses, some houses are makeshift. Many houses have structural cracks, inadequate roofing and unsafe foundation, and have been declared unfit for habitation. Many houses here remain damp during the rains. People here complain of suffering from musculoskeletal pain, respiratory issues, and skin diseases. Residents do not have piped water in many parts of the settlements. In some parts, people share toilets. While there is direct water supply in this area from the Municipality, the flow of water supply is intermittent. The ward is prone to various hazards such as earthquake, landslide, land sinking, hailstorm, fire, public health risks/ diseases, road accidents, tree falling etc. In 2023, there was a major flood in Krishna Nagar, which felled a landmark Slaughter House in the area, along with several houses. This flood killed at least two persons from the locality. Some houses were destroyed and many people had to evacuate their homes permanently as they were precarious. Eidgah Colony, Ruldu Bhatta Ruldu Bhatta is the second largest “slum” in Shimla city, second to Krishnanagar. It is home to more than 6000 residents, and is close to popular tourist destinations such as Scandal Point. Eidgah colony is the biggest informal settlement in Ruldu Bhatta. The ward is elevated and has steep hairpin bends, making it difficult for vehicles to ply. Some roads are broken and damaged making it difficult to even walk. Nearly 90 percent of people here live in interior lanes with poor accessibility to motorable roads. Emergency services and fire tenders find it difficult to enter Ruldu Bhatta. The colony has mostly migrant workers from other North Indian states such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. These workers are mostly informal or daily wage labourers, carpenters, welders, construction labourers,often seen walking in a line towards the main road in the mornings. A significant number of houses in the area are built on unstable slopes. The construction of houses inside Eidgah

Author name: ikakar@georgeinstitute.org.in