Margins - An assessment of slum infrastructure preparedness to withstand COVID-19

This will help us understand the extent of vulnerability of households to the pandemic based on the size of the city and the location of household within the city. [...] How does Covid-19 aggravate the multidimensional vulnerability of slums in India? A Commentary; Science Direct Study Objectives & Methodology Objective Methodology To assess the extent of vulnerabilities with The condition of housing and WASH infrastructure in slums and non-slum areas in respect to WASH and housing among the million and non-million plus cities over time are compared. [...] 45% slum residents of small towns pay for water while 56% slum residents pay in million plus cities • The water charges in million plus cities for non-slum HHs and slum HHs is INR 200 and INR 150, respectively, which is higher in comparison to the amount paid by the households in small towns. [...] Million-plus city slum houses are more congested Non-Million Million (sqft) Person per room 3 2.5 2 1.67 120 120 125 110 Non-Million Million Non slum Slum Non slum Slum Non slum Slum The average size of living room in the slums of million plus cities is 110 sqft which is smaller in comparison to the slums in small towns with an average room size of 120 sqft. [...] In order to make these neighbourhoods safe places to live, we recommend: • Prioritization of in-house water supply and individual toilets to ensure exclusive access and reduction in the number of households relying on shared facilities thereby minimizing exposure in the event of any future pandemics.