Chapter 12 Geographical Perspective On Selected Issues And Problems

This chapter examines several significant geographical issues and problems, including environmental pollution, urban waste disposal, rural-urban migration, problems of slums, and land degradation, within the Indian context.

Environmental Pollution

Environmental pollution occurs when substances and energy from human waste products are released into the environment, causing harmful effects. Pollution is classified based on the medium through which pollutants are transported:

• Air pollution
• Water pollution
• Land pollution
• Noise pollution

Water Pollution

Increasing population and industrial growth lead to indiscriminate water use and significant degradation of water quality. Surface water sources are rarely pure and contain natural substances, but pollution occurs when the concentration of harmful human-induced substances exceeds the water body's self-purifying capacity.

While natural processes contribute some pollutants, human activities are the primary cause of concern. Industries are particularly significant polluters, discharging waste, polluted water, gases, chemicals, heavy metals, dust, and smoke into water bodies, harming aquatic life and potentially contaminating water sources.

Major water-polluting industries include leather, pulp and paper, textiles, and chemicals.

Modern agriculture contributes to water pollution through the use of inorganic fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides, which are washed into surface waters or infiltrate groundwater.

Cultural activities like pilgrimages, religious fairs, and tourism also cause water pollution.

Consequently, almost all surface water sources in India are contaminated and often unfit for human consumption.

Water pollution is a major source of water-borne diseases such as diarrhea, intestinal worms, and hepatitis. Approximately one-fourth of communicable diseases in India are water-borne.

Pollution of the Ganga River, flowing through densely populated areas, is a significant concern. To address this, the government launched the National Mission for Clean Ganga, also known as the Namami Gange Programme.

Namami Gange Programme Objectives:

• Develop sewerage treatment systems in towns along the river.
• Monitor industrial effluents discharged into the river.
• Develop and improve riverfront areas.
• Undertake afforestation along the river banks to increase biodiversity.
• Clean the river surface from floating waste.
• Develop 'Ganga Grams' (villages along the Ganga) focusing on sanitation and river health.
• Raise public awareness to prevent pollutants (including ritualistic waste) from entering the river.

Air Pollution

Air pollution involves the addition of contaminants (dust, fumes, gases, smoke, etc.) to the atmosphere in concentrations and durations harmful to plants, animals, and property. The increased use of fuels has led to a marked increase in the emission of toxic gases.

Main sources of air pollution are combustion of fossil fuels, mining, and industrial processes, releasing pollutants like oxides of sulphur and nitrogen, hydrocarbons, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, lead, and asbestos.

Air pollution causes various health problems, affecting respiratory, nervous, and circulatory systems. Smoky fog over cities (urban smog) is harmful to health. Air pollution can also lead to acid rain.

Noise Pollution

Noise pollution is exposure to noise levels that are uncomfortable or harmful to humans, becoming a serious concern with technological advancements. Main sources include factories, construction/demolition work, vehicles (automobiles, aircraft, trains), and loud sounds from sirens, loudspeakers, and community events.

The intensity of steady noise is measured in decibels (dB). Traffic noise is a major source, varying based on vehicle type, condition of roads/vehicles, and volume of traffic.

Industrial noise levels depend on the type of industry. Noise pollution is location-specific and decreases with distance from the source (e.g., industrial zones, transport routes, airports).

Urban Waste Disposal

Urban areas in India often face challenges like overcrowding, congestion, and insufficient infrastructure, leading to poor sanitation and environmental pollution, particularly from solid wastes.

Solid waste includes discarded items from households (garbage, refuse) and industrial/commercial establishments (rubbish, debris). Household waste is often disposed of on public land or private sites, while industrial waste is typically collected and dumped in designated landfill areas (low-lying grounds).

Large quantities of ash and debris from industries, power plants, and construction/demolition sites pose significant disposal problems.

Solid waste creates health hazards due to obnoxious smells, attracting flies and rodents that spread diseases (typhoid, diphtheria, malaria, cholera). Careless handling, wind dispersion, and rainwater runoff exacerbate these issues.

Industrial waste disposal in or near urban centres leads to water pollution, especially when dumped into rivers or lakes. Untreated sewage discharge from cities also pollutes water bodies, causing serious health problems downstream.

Urban waste disposal is a critical problem nationwide. While metropolitan cities collect and dispose of a large portion of waste, smaller cities and towns collect only 30-50%, leaving significant amounts to accumulate and cause health risks.

Untreated organic waste ferments slowly, releasing toxic gases like methane. There is a need to treat urban waste as a resource for energy generation (biogas) or compost production.

Rural-Urban Migration

The movement of people from rural to urban areas is driven by both 'push' factors in rural areas and 'pull' factors in urban centres. Key drivers include high demand for labour and better job opportunities in cities, limited job prospects in rural areas, and uneven development patterns between rural and urban regions.

Due to better opportunities, poor individuals from rural areas often bypass smaller towns and migrate directly to mega cities.

A case study of Ramesh, a welder migrating from rural Odisha to various urban construction sites, illustrates this process. Despite difficult living conditions and separation from family, his remittances significantly improved his family's economic condition and standard of living in the village, enabling investment in healthcare, education, land, and housing.

In developing countries, rural-urban migration is often dominated by poor, semi-literate, and unskilled males who take up low-paid jobs in the urban informal sector. Due to insufficient wages in cities, they often leave their wives and families behind in rural areas.

Global urbanization trends show a growing proportion of the world's population living in cities, putting increasing pressure on urban infrastructure, resources, and basic services, leading to issues like poor sanitation, health problems, crime, and urban poverty.

Urban population growth is due to natural increase (births exceeding deaths), net in-migration, and reclassification of areas. In India, a significant portion of urban growth is attributed to rural-to-urban migration.

Problems Of Slums

Slums are a significant problem in urban areas, particularly in developing countries. Slums are typically characterized by substandard housing, overcrowding, poor sanitation, lack of basic amenities (drinking water, electricity, toilets), inadequate ventilation, and narrow, congested streets.

These conditions pose serious health and socio-environmental hazards, including open defecation and unregulated drainage.

Slums are often inhabited by people who migrated to cities seeking work but cannot afford formal housing due to high rents and land costs. They are often forced to occupy environmentally unsuitable or degraded areas.

Most slum dwellers work in low-paid, high-risk, unorganized sectors of the urban economy, leading to undernourishment, susceptibility to diseases, and limited access to healthcare and education for themselves and their children.

Poverty in slums increases vulnerability to social problems like drug abuse, alcoholism, crime, vandalism, and ultimately leads to social exclusion.

The Swachh Bharat Mission aims to improve living conditions in urban slums as part of urban renewal efforts.

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Land Degradation

Pressure on agricultural land increases not only due to limited availability but also due to the deterioration of its quality (land degradation). Land degradation refers to a temporary or permanent decline in the productive capacity of land.

Key processes causing land degradation include soil erosion, waterlogging, salinisation (increase in soluble salts), and alkalinisation (increase in alkaline salts).

Consistent land use without proper management of soil fertility leads to degradation and declining productivity. If unchecked, land degradation can result in the conversion of productive land into wasteland.

Land degradation is caused by both natural processes and human activities. Remote sensing techniques are used to classify wastelands and identify the contributing processes.

Natural agents primarily cause wastelands such as gullied/ravinous land, desert or coastal sands, barren rocky areas, steep slopes, and glacial areas.

Other types of degraded lands, like waterlogged/marshy areas and land affected by salinity/alkalinity, result from a combination of natural and human factors.

However, some wastelands, like degraded areas from shifting cultivation, degraded plantations, degraded forests, degraded pastures, and mining/industrial wastelands, are primarily caused by human actions. Man-made processes are significant contributors to wasteland formation.

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Exercises

This section contains exercises designed to assess understanding of geographical issues and problems discussed in the chapter, including environmental pollution, migration, slums, and land degradation.

Choose The Right Answers Of The Following From The Given Options

Multiple-choice questions testing knowledge of key facts, definitions, and causes related to various environmental and socio-economic problems discussed.

Answer The Following Questions In About 30 Words

Short answer questions requiring brief explanations of concepts like pollution vs. pollutants, sources of air pollution, urban waste problems, effects of air pollution, and factors responsible for migration.

Answer The Following Questions In About 150 Words.

Longer answer questions prompting more detailed discussions on the nature of water pollution, problems associated with slums, and measures to reduce land degradation.