Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions on it.
Many cities in the world have now become overcrowded because everyday people migrate to them from the country-side in search of work and better living conditions. This problem is far worse in Third World countries, where the harsh living conditions and the lack of gainful employment opportunities in rural areas usually compel a ceaseless and massive rural-urban drift.
This desperate state of affairs is not without its direct consequences for the cities. Facilities like accommodation, schools, hospitals, water supply and public transport cannot cope with the demands on them from increased numbers of people, and so they are under severe strain. House rents soar astronomically, and so too many tenants crowd into inadequate spaces. Markets, streets and motorways are congested with people and vehicles. And as the garbage disposal is inefficient, the garbage piles up everywhere, contributing to environmental pollution.
Many of the migrants come to the big cities in the hope of finding employment. However, because a majority of them are unskilled workers or fresh school-leavers not equipped in any way for gainful self-employment, they simply end up swelling the ranks of the desperate unemployed in the city.
The devil, they say, makes work for idle hands. With no means of livelihood in the relatively more expensive cities, many of these disillusioned young people resort to prostitution, fraud and crime in order to survive. No wonder the crime rate in the cities is for ever rising, and there are daily reports of victims who lose their money, possessions or even their lives to dare-devil robbers.
How can this deplorable state of affairs in the cities be reversed? Since the search for jobs accounts for much of the rural-urban drift, one way is to encourage the creation of jobs outside the cities. For example, certain businesses such as banks and manufacturing industries could be encouraged to set up branches in rural areas. If rural dweller have ready access to the same jobs they go to look for in the city, the need for migrating will be reduced.
It should be admitted that in this modern age, life without the basic amenities of pipe-borne water, electricity, good roads, schools and hospitals is just not good enough. Many rural dwellers are lured to the cities because of the lack of amenities, so providing them in these rural communities will not only contribute to stemming the tide of migration but also create a favourable environment for investment.
It has also been argued that rural farming is gradually being abandoned to the aged. The primitive, labour-intensive methods and the relatively low yields have made it unattractive to the youth, who would rather seek their fortune in the cities. If farming is made attractive, for example, through mechanization, it will become another source of employment for rural dwellers and thus reduce the necessity to migrate to the city.
Rural-urban migration causes a serious population imbalance, and has all sorts of attendant problems that can get worse if not tackled effectively. So, the sooner a solution is sought the better.
(a) In three sentences, one for each, summarize the three negative consequences of rural-urban migration discussed in the passage.
(b) In three sentences, one for each, summarize the writer’s suggestions for tackling the problem.
Explanation
(a) (i) It/Rural — urban migration leads to congestion / over — crowding in cities (ii) It puts a strain / pressure on the facilities / amenities in cities (iii) It worsens unemployment in cities. (iv) It increases crime (the crime rate) in cities
(b)(i) Jobs should be created in rural areas / communities (ii) Basic amenities / facilities should be provided in rural areas / communities (iii) Farming should be made (more) attractive in rural areas) communities.