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CASE STUDIES
support the filler slab for usage. Light weight rooftop lanes leading up to the
the upper floors. However, rooms on the upper floors dwellings are 3-4m wide.
houses on bigger plots (41 are often accessed via ladder In some areas there was a
sqm and above) are usually in cases where a masonry 1-1.5m wide back-lane that
constructed as builder floors roof does not exist. The steep allowed the houses to have a
with column-beam structures staircases are very narrow rear window and possibility
on raft foundation. Absence of (around 2 feet) and marked of natural light in the rear
setbacks results in outer walls by high risers (250- 300mm) rooms.
that are twice as thick as what without safety measure like
is necessary to bear the load. railings. Water & Sanitation: In the
These structures can at best surveyed settlement the
be described as matchboxes Social Space & Roads: There water pipelines were either
stacked together that support are no community and social laid by the government or
each other structurally. spaces like parks for children by residents themselves. But
and the elderly. Children play due irregular water supply
Access to Upper Floors: The on the streets while women residents had to depend on
upper floors are accessed gather around the entrance of groundwater (bore-wells) or
through a staircase which houses to interact with each tankers.
is usually in the front of other (Figure 13). While the
the building (Figure 12). In men gather under a tree or a In the absence of sewer lines,
some cases the upper floor chowk (square). residents have to construct
is accessed through a brick a septic tank/ cess pit which
staircase placed in the middle Three out of four colonies are to be cleaned by honey-
segment of the plot that surveyed followed a suckers regularly (3-4 years)
terminates into a masonry hierarchy of sorts where and the liquid waste often
enclosure. The kitchen is major roads running through overflows into the drains.
generally tucked under the the settlement are 6m wide As these cess-pits are not
staircase to optimize space for thorough-fare. The access properly constructed they
are a source of ground-water
contamination. Open drains
Figure 12: Staircase position used for dumping garbage
are a common phenomenon
observed across the surveyed
settlement.
WAY FORWARD
Poor housing conditions
like lack of natural light and
ventilation and dampness,
cramped and dark living
spaces, inadequate water
availability, and unhygienic
living conditions have an
inadvertent adverse effect on
the health of the residents.
High Density and large sized
April 2022 Volume 23 No. 1 - SHELTER 87
