Question

Explain the social life of people living in Bombay.

Answer 1

1. Bombay was a crowded city and Fort Area formed the heart of the city 2. There was a sudden growth of migrant population in Bombey due to the development of textile mills and it grew into an unplanned city 3. While industrialists lived in bungalows, working people who covered 70% of the population lived in thickly populated chawls of Bombay 4. Chawls are multi storeyed buildings which are rented out to migrators by landlords, bankers, merchants who aim at earning money quickly 5. Each chawl was divided into smaller one room tenements which had no private (separate) toilets. 6. Since the migrants had no choice they have to accommodate themselves and the occupants of the room were upto 4 or 5 members 7. They had to live under unhealthy conditions and faced water scarcity. 8. Planning in Bombay took place out of fear of epidemic and as a result, City of Bombay Improvement Trust which was established in the year 1898 aimed at cleaning poorer homes out of the city centre. 9. As an effort of the Trust, Rent Act was passed which made the rents reasonable for middle class section of people