Youths from the slums fear inflation after the lockdown

In study by Salaam Bombay Foundation, most participants said they were worried about livelihood and food, but most of them are worried about what will come next

Issues of livelihood and food occupied the minds of youths staying in slums across the city during the lockdown. The Salaam Bombay Foundation (SBF) did a study on mapping needs in slums during the pandemic, and found that not only did more than 60 per cent of youths in the slums report these issues during the lockdown, they think the inflation will be a major problem after it.

Study in two phases
While 82 per cent of the youths have access to the Internet, one-fifth of them couldn't access it due to monetary issues. "Issues mapped in the survey were self-reported by youths and were prioritised depending on the situation experienced by them," said Dr Manasi Bawdekar, vice president – Research and Monitoring and Evaluation, SBF. The SBF reached out to 2,553 individuals across 24 wards of the city. The study was conducted in two phases – first in lockdown 2 – from April 15 to May 3 and the second in lockdown 3 – from May 4 to May 17. For phase 2, the interaction was made with 88 per cent (2,164) participants from phase one. Out of the total participants, 93 per cent were between 14 to 20 years old. The other seven per cent included some below age 12 and their families. Most of their parents (fathers of 36 per cent and mothers of 83 per cent) were contract workers. Other parents were daily wage workers, shop keepers, vendors, drivers etc.

In the first phase of the study, access to food (77 per cent participants) and livelihood (64 per cent) were two major issues reported by youths. Participants from F North, L, G South and M East wards faced them more. At the same time, less than 10 per cent of youths reported social interaction, hygiene and sanitation, water supply, safety and security as a concern. Only 0.9 per cent of youths found an issue getting an education. While in the second phase food (67 per cent) and livelihood (56 per cent) remained the major issues, 4.3 per cent youth reported issues in getting an education. Even the concern over safety and security (from 1.2 per cent to 6.6 per cent) increased. The most-reported aspect related to safety was rumours about COVID-19 in the community.

Worries about education
"While in the first phase the schools were just shut down, in the second phase, uncertainty in the continuity of education became an issue of concern among students and their parents," said Dr Bawdekar. She added that apart from school they were missing activities of coaching classes, extra-curricular activities and bonding with their friends.

While 63 per cent of participants have a TV at their home, 36 per cent said that they don't have access to other electronic gadgets except for phones. At least 76 per cent participants had smartphones and another 6 per cent had analogue phones with Internet.

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