STATUS OF HOUSEHOLDS IN TIPTUR TOWN
Urban settlements whether big or small predominantly have residential area as a major land use type. In this chapter the land use under the residential areas is not a focal issue, but under residential land use main aspects such as types of houses, amenities in the houses and scenario of residential area as a whole have been discussed. At present Tiptur town being a class III town in Tumkur district has 11, 286 (2001) number of households. For the purpose of detailed study of types of houses and their amenities, a large size of sample households has been selected. (See Table No. 6.1)
Table No.6.1
Sampling size for Housing Scenario of Tiptur Town 2000-2001
| Sl. No. | Item | Sample size of households | Percentage to Total households (%) |
| 1 | Sample size of resource of water, light and fuel | 2500 | 22.15 |
| 2 | Building materials for roofing, flooring and wall construction | 2500 | 22.15 |
| 3 | Amenities, economic parameters and floor area | 1500 | 13.2 |
| 4 | Building / House utilization | 1960 | 17.36 |
Source: Data compiled from field study during 2000-01.
In this chapter an attempt has been made to explain the details of ward-wise distribution of households, classification of households based on types of houses, in terms of materials used for roofing, for walls and floor, house classification based on amenities like number of rooms, water supply, sewerage and power supply and the housing scenario have been covered.
GROWTH OF HOUSEHOLDS IN TIPTUR TOWN.
1830 onwards, under the British regime Tiptur came out of its village status to a visible small urban settlement, because of the development of the Bangalore-Honnavar Road (B.H. Road), via Tiptur. There are certain economic and administrative events, which have certainly gone into the growth of households as well as population of Tiptur. (See Table 6.2)
Table No. 6.2
Factors of growth of households in Tiptur Town
| Sl. No. | Important of Events responsible for the Growth of housing in Tiptur Town | Year incidents |
| 1 | Establishment of B.H. Road, | 1831-50 |
| 2 | Changing of Taluk Headquarters from Honnavalli to Tiptur | 1886 |
| 3 | Introduction of Bangalore-Harihara Railway line (to connect Bangalore- Miraj) through Tiptur | 1889 |
| 4 | Establishment of Municipality | 1918 |
| 5 | Introduction of tap water supply | 1928-29 |
| 6 | Sudden raise in demand of broomsticks (made out of coco palm sticks) | After 1930 |
| 7 | Introduction of Electricity | 1940 |
| 8 | Establishment of various administrative offices | 1950 onwards |
| 9 | Establishment of Munsif Magistrate’s court | 1951 |
| 10 | Formation of regulated market and shifting the same to new planned market area | 1961 |
| 11 | Establishment of Kalpatharu College | 1962 |
| 12 | Opening of General Hospital | 165 |
| 13 | Rapid growth in copra trade | 1965 |
| 14 | Expansion of coconut plantation with the help of tube well | 1970 |
| 15 | Establishment and growth of coconut bases industries coie, desiccate coconut powder, oil etc.,) Loom industry. In northern Tiptur and engineering industry | 1970 onwards |
| 16 | Opening of Kalpatharu Institute of Technology | 1986 |
| 17 | Drinking water supply through Hemavati projects channel | 1996 |
| 18 | Merger of seven surrounding villages with the town | 1996 |
Source: Data compiled by personal survey
The growth of Tiptur radial roads around this emerging town further expanded the houses and population in the subsequent years. In 1889 Mysore-Marahatta railway was laid connecting Bangalore with Miraj via this emerging town. Its central location between Arasikere railway junction and Tumkur gave economic importance in collection and disposal of certain agricultural products, particularly the growing dry coconut trade. Despite this development Tiptur had around 500 households’ population being less than 3000.
Tiptur witnessed the establishment of some important administrative offices in the early 1990s and prior to that period. In the year 1918, the establishment of municipality denotes its town status. Prior to 1886 Tiptur town saw the establishment of the Taluk office (Trade and Commerce, Administrative etc.). At the same time these people also started supplying milk, vegetables and an important agricultural products dry coconut kernel (copra) and coconut. From the study it appears that when the population was 5,160 (See Table 6.2) in 1931, the house holds of Tiptur town was around 1000.
Seven years prior to our political independence that is in 1940, Tiptur town got electric power supply. Certainly this was a significant event, along with the tap water supply in 1928-29, which resulted in the growth of households and population of Tiptur town.
Table No. 6.3
Growth of Household in Tiptur Town (1961-2001)
| Sl. No | No. of growth of households | Rate | Population growth | Growth Rate |
| 1961 | 2780 | 15558 | 0.318 | |
| 1971 | 3999 | 0.305 | 22592 | 0.452 |
| 1981 | 5593 | 0.284 | 30468 | 0.348 |
| 1991 | 7224 | 0.2916 | 36053 | 0.1833 |
| 2001 | 11286 | 0.5622 | 55257 | 53.26% (estimated) |
Source: Municipality records
Table 6.3 clearly shows the status of households and related total population since 1961. In the 1960s two important events marked the history of the growth of the Tiptur town. In 1961 Agricultural Produce Market Committee (A.P.M.C), for the exclusive handling of dry coconut kernel (copra) trade was established. This expanded its coconut collection hinterland beyond its administrative boundary consisting of the Taluks and Districts of Southern Karnataka. Added to this, there was a rapid growth of truck and bus transportation in this decade, which enhanced the transportation linkage of Tiptur town far and wide. In fact it is in this decade that Tiptur town copra export also picked up the town emerging as the largest and only important marketing town in the entire former Mysore State. The increase in transportation and its widened commercial base has also led to further growth of house holds and population.
It is in this very same decade that another important cultural event took place in Tiptur town. The establishment of Kalpatharu Vidya Samsthe under the aegis of this important Institution Arts, Science and Commerce Colleges were established. There were other educational institutions in the town but they were only schools. The town employment base got widened due to the growth of tertiary sector. This consists of teachers, bank employees, government employees, and people engaged in health services and in trade and commerce and transporting with their related functions. The houses and population has substantially grown during 1960. By 1971 we see 3.05% of growth in households and 45.2% of growth of population (See Table No. 6.3)
The consequences of the aforesaid economic developments have cumulatively contributed to the further growth of Tiptur town, during the next decades. The town has seen substantial growth of its area and population (See Table 6.3) due to the development of new extensions like M.B.S. Layout, Vinayakanagar, Vidyanagara etc. hence, by 1981, it has a household growth of 28.4% and the population growth of 34.8%. This further has picked up remarkably for combined growth of primary, secondary and Tertiary sectors. In this period, especially, there was further consolidation of coconut based industries in around the town. Rapid expansion of coconut growing area in its hinterland led to the increase in economic interaction with copra trade. Increased frequency of transportation through busses and trucks, establishment of Kalpatharu Institute of Technology and increased flow of students to various educational institutions in the town are also responsible for the phenomenal growth in both house (29.16%) and also population (18.33%) by 1991.
In spite of the rich economic base in trade and commerce are also education and administration. Interestingly in the history of the development of Tiptur witnessed an important event in 1996. During this year, seven villages (bandihalli, goragondanahalli, Maranagere, Kanchaghatta, Annapura, Halepalya and Hosapalya) around the town were brought under the municipal limit. With the result, of these, about 13440 people and about 1756 households got inducted to the town. Hence, Tiptur town reached a remarkable house hold growth between 1991 and 2001. This is evident from the table, which shows 56.22% of growth of households and 53.3% of population (estimated). The severe shortage drinking water was brought down in 1996 with the establishment of Hemavathi water supply. By 2001 we see around 11,286 households and about 55257 total populations (estimated) in Tiptur town. [See Table No. 6.4]
However, the history of the growth of the households and population, it becomes important to mention enema migration that resulted in the growth of slum areas. Between 1951-60 three was a remarkable migration of Tamil population in to the Tiptur town. Investigation shows that factors such as drought elsewhere and demand for coconut brooms in Northern India have induced cheap labours tin to the slum area. This newly migrated population got settled more or less in Gandhinagar area of Tiptur (Southern part of the town).investigation has also revealed that the status queo of the population remains unchanged even to this day. As late as Tiptur town had about 2300 slum households mainly in Gandhinagar and adjoining areas like Gurappanakatte, Dastagirkatte, Neharunagar etc.
Table No. 6.4
Households in Tiptur Town 2001
| Ward No. | No. of Households |
| 1 | 292 |
| 2 | 414 |
| 3 | 219 |
| 4 | 316 |
| 5 | 293 |
| 6 | 172 |
| 7 | 234 |
| 8 | 519 |
| 9 | 462 |
| 10 | 433 |
| 11 | 727 |
| 12 | 426 |
| 13 | 428 |
| 14 | 412 |
| 15 | 437 |
| 16 | 610 |
| 17 | 809 |
| 18 | 280 |
| 19 | 246 |
| 20 | 488 |
| 21 | 378 |
| 22 | 462 |
| 23 | 522 |
| 24 | 201 |
| 25 | 627 |
| 26 | 263 |
| 27 | 616 |
| Total | 11286 |
Source: Municipal Records.
The slum house holds account for 20.4% of the total number of house holds of Tiptur town. It also accounts for about 18% of total population of the town.
TYPES OF HOUSE:
Under the present investigation of housing scenario, importance is given to the study various types of building materials that have gone into the construction of houses in Tiptur town. For this purpose, out of twenty-seven wards of Tiptur town, thirteen wards have been considered where 2500 households have been selected randomly. The sample size accounts for 2500 (See Table 6.1).
Material used for wall construction
A glance at Tables No. 6.5 shows the different kinds of materials used for construction of walls in the houses. An overwhelming majority of households have used burnt bricks for the construction of the wall. A majority of the upper and middle classes to some extent, even the poor – use burnt bricks for construction of their houses irrespective of the economic strata to which the owner of the house belongs.
Table No. 6.5
Material used for wall construction for the houses in Tiptur town 2000-2001
| Sl. No. | Materials used | No. of houses | Percentage | Place |
| % | ||||
| 1 | Thatching materials | 81 | 3.24 | 4 |
| 2 | Plastic | 5 | 0.2 | 8 |
| 3 | Soil/Un burnt bricks | 308 | 12.32 | 3 |
| 4 | Wood | 20 | 0.8 | 5 |
| 5 | Sheets | 18 | 0.72 | 6 |
| 6 | Burnt bricks | 1696 | 67.86 | 1 |
| 7 | Stones | 10 | 0.4 | 7 |
| 8 | Concrete | 358 | 14.3 | 2 |
| 9 | others | 4 | 0.16 | 9 |
| Total | 2500 | 100 |
Source: personal survey in 18 wards of Tptur town (2,500 sample households)
Table No. 6.6
Material used for roofing in the houses construction Tiptur town 2000-2001
| Sl. No. | Materials | No. of houses | Percentage | Place |
| % | ||||
| 1 | Thatching materials | 119 | 4.76 | 4 |
| 2 | Plastic | 8 | 0.32 | 6 |
| 3 | Tiles | 1033 | 41.32 | 1 |
| 4 | Slates | 4 | 0.16 | 9 |
| 5 | Sheets (Zinc, Cement, etc.) | 415 | 16.6 | 3 |
| 6 | Bricks | 8 | 0.32 | 5 |
| 7 | Stones | 4 | 0.16 | 8 |
| 8 | R.C.C | 904 | 36.16 | 2 |
| 9 | Others | 5 | 0.2 | 7 |
| Total | 2500 | 1 |
Source: personal survey in 18 wards of Tiptur town (2,500 sample households)
Table no. 6.7
Material used for Flooring in the households of Tiptur town 2000-2001
| Sl. No. | Sources | No. of households | Percentage |
| % | |||
| 1 | Soil | 308 | 12.32 |
| 2 | Wood | 18 | 0.72 |
| 3 | Bricks | 4 | 0.16 |
| 4 | Stones | 495 | 19.8 |
| 5 | Cement | 1424 | 56.96 |
| 6 | Mosaic | 237 | 9.48 |
| 7 | Other materials | 14 | 0.56 |
Source: personal survey in 18 wards of Tiptur town (2,500 sample households)
Table No. 6.5 also reveals that exclusively concrete walled houses account for approximately 14 % of the surveyed houses. Generally, the use of concrete in building construction is a sign of affluence. But it can be seen in Tiptur town, as elsewhere, that even poor people using concrete to raise their walls. The business community raises concrete walls for the maximum utilization of space, as concrete walls are thin but strong.
Tables No 6.5 shows that about 12.3% of the surveyed households have walls with unburned bricks. The main reason-other than the economic status for this small section of people to dwell in such houses is the low rainfall of 690mm / annum, which does not affect their houses.
The poor particularly, have used the easily available cheaper materials like coconut leaves as thatching materials. These materials are used for walls and roofs. This material accounts for 3.2% (of total sample households) of the construction of walls.
However, it is also common to see new building material such as plastic sheets etc., being used. Often, this is the disposed of commercial packing material freely available to the poor. All these miscellaneous materials account for less than 1% of house holds wall material.
Households and the Roofing Materials:
In geographical studies dealing with the human settlements, it is common to make observations about the types of houses based on materials used for roofing. In the present investigation, an attempt has been made to study the materials used for roofing in Tiptur town. A detailed observation of the Table No. 6.6 reveals that of the total surveyed households of 2500 in the various wards of Tiptur town, about 41.39% of houses have Mangalore tiles for roofing. For almost a century has been a common feature part of this country. However, after 1970s there is a declining use of tiles and increased use of steel and cement in R.C.C. roofing. This is evident from the study that the surveyed households in Tiptur town over 36% of the households have R.C.C. roofs. Nevertheless, 36% represents economically well off section of the population. (See Tables No.6.6)
Along with a slight growth in the economic status of people, increased migration into the town, availability of Zinc and cement roofing sheets etc., have led to the use of these materials for roofing. The study has revealed that materials occupy the third position as the roofing materials (See Table No. 6.6)
It has been mentioned earlier that coconut plant materials are available in plenty in the surroundings of Tiptur town. But mostly lower middle class and the poor use them. These households, which have used thatching materials for roofing account for about 5% of the households surveyed.
It is also a common feature that other miscellaneous materials such as plastic sheets too have been used for roofing. Less than 1% of the total surveyed households have this kind of roofing. However, economically weaker sections, which work as daily wage labours in the commercial area as also near constructions sites etc., use these materials for their temporary houses. For example such houses can be seen in Gandhinagar area of Tiptur town.
Households and Flooring Materials:
Under the housing scenario of Tiptur town, an investigation has been done to study the materials uses for the flooring in the houses. For this purpose 2500 households have been taken for the sample study in the various wards of Tiptur town. A detailed observation of Table No. 6.7 reveals that almost 57% of households have cemented based floors. Since Tiptur is a commercial town, a sizable population relatively economically well-off. This is evident from the use of cement as a floor material in the town. But it is also not uncommon to see that lower middle class has predominantly uses red oxide cement flooring.
From the study it is observed that nearly 20% of the houses with another 9.5% have used stones and mosaic flooring respectively. Certainly these two sections which almost come to 30% of the surveyed households represent upper middle and aristocratic classes. It is well known that Tiptur has a sizable trading community and quite a good number of people engaged in government and salaried jobs. In fact, it is common to see that bigger and well built houses have used polished Granite, Marble, and Shaded stones as also a variety of Mosaic tiles for flooring (See table No. 6.7)
It is not surprising to see that around 12.3% of the households have simple earthen flooring. It is already mentioned that houses with thatched and plastic roofing also have this simple earthen flooring. It is a common sight that some of the hut dwellers smear their floors with a paste of cow dong.
UTILIZATION OF HOUSES:
In this section, an attempt has been made to know the utilization of building and house space for mainly domestic and other activities. For this purpose, 1960 households have been considered for sampling. These sampling houses have been selected in four major areas of Tiptur town. These represent partly core area (Kote ward No. 1), and partly expanding residential area which was about 16.4% of the sampling households taken for the study. Well built planned residential area K.R. Extension (ward No. 7), has about 23.6% of sample households. Gandhinagar, (ward no. 14) is a planned area but occupied by the poor Annapura is an area on the outskirts which consists of residential cum industrial land. It has about 75.6% of different households selected for the purpose of study. (See Table No. 6.8)
Table No. 6.8
Building / house Space utilization 2000-2001
| Ward No. | Name | No. of sample households | Residential only | Party used for residential | Vacant houses | Houses for non residential use |
| 1 | Kote Area | 321 | 190 | 20 | 31 | 80 |
| 7 | K.R. Extension | 515 | 330 | 21 | 50 | 114 |
| 14 | Gandhinagar | 623 | 405 | 4 | 67 | 147 |
| 23 | Annapura | 501 | 325 | 50 | 24 | 102 |
| Total | 1960 | 1250 | 95 | 172 | 443 | |
| Percentage | 0.637 | 0.048 | 0.087 | 0.226 |
Source: Data compiled personal field study.
Kote and Bandihalli areas constitute Ward No. 1 (See figure no. 6.1) if we examine the building space utilization in these areas in terms of residential and non-residential use, we find that, these areas have about 59.1% of space utilized completely for residential purpose.
However, in about 6.2% of the buildings, built up area is used partly for residential and partly for other uses such as, small scale, commercial, industrial and even for the purpose of cowsheds. From the study it is known that in this area about 8.6% of buildings are lying unutilized in the form of vacant houses. This may include newly built houses or even old dilapidated buildings. In this zone almost 24.9% of buildings are being for non residential purpose such as, commercial, industrial (Cushions, Coir, Plastics, Cotton processing etc). They also used for storage purposes like storing fodder, coconut, and its products.
Under building space utilization the well planned residential area, K.R. Extension, has been selected (ward No 7) since it is a well –planed area about 64.1% of the building space has been utilized exclusively for residential purposes. About 4% of the building is partly used for residential purpose. Vacant houses account for 9.7%. This may be attributed to availability of fairly good number of houses often new and old for rent.
K.R. Extension has about 22.1% of building space under non-residential uses. This sizeable non-residential area is mainly due to its location along the B.H. Road in the heart of the town where a good number of buildings are used for commercial, Education and religious institutions.
Under the study of building space utilization, an effort has been made to study its scenario in the southern part of the town viz., Gandhinagar (ward No. 14). It has the highest building space used for residential purposes (65%). Mainly because it is a poor class locality often with slums, one can see a high building density. Naturally, this locality has the lowest percentage of building space (0.6%) utilized for commercial purposes. We may rarely see part of the built-up area used for exclusively other purposes. A sizeable section of the Muslim population has converted its residential space for the storing packing and scrap materials. Some times, after the clearance of the stock, this space remains vacant temporarily. Along with this there seems to be a small percentage of vacant houses, at the time of investigation, which are waiting for tenants and they account for 10.7%.
The building space used for non-residential purposes in Gandhinagar area accounts for 23.5%. Being a poor residential locality this type of non-residential building space is used for carpentry/wood planning, junkyard, small shops.
For the purpose of building utilization study, Annapura (ward No. 23), representing an industrial cum residential area, which lies on the North West outskirts has been selected of the total buildings, about 64.8% have been utilized for residential purposes. About 9.9% have been utilized for partly residential purposes. Nearly 5% of its building space is vacant houses. Nearly 20% of its building space falls under non-residential uses. Most of the non-residential and partly residential building space is used for Looms and its related industrial establishment. The lowest percentages of houses are vacant as this area is a new locality of the town.
From the sample study we can conclude that 63.7% of the building has been used for residential purposes (See Table No. 6.8 and figure No.6.1) and at the same time about 22.6% is used for non-residential purposes. Vacant houses account for 8.7% of the buildings. Roughly about 5% of the samples have been utilized for partly residential purpose.
HOUSEHOLDS and BEDROOMS:
Further, in this chapter, an effort has been made to study the amenities in the households. For this purpose a sample of 1500 households which are distributed randomly in 18 wards of Tiptur town have been selected. Attention has been paid to cover various localities and fairly all the three sections of the society in Tiptur town for the year 2000-2001 (see table no. 6.9).
Households without Bedrooms:
From the study, it has been found that in Tiptur town as a whole, we see 11.1% of the households have only a simple structure with out any separate bedroom. There is one locality namely (viz.) Mavinathopu, an extension which is a slum has 74% of its surveyed households under this category. Also, surprisingly another two wards Kote and Gandhinagar, which are parts of highly, built up town, too have 10.20% of their households without even a single bedroom. However, Kote forming core area of the town has rather long single structured houses without bedrooms. These are tiled houses. There are simple separation walls without rooms. At the same time, in Gandhinagar, which is again a poor class housing area with out bedrooms (21.1%), such single structures without bedrooms can be seen similar is the case with residential areas like Maranagere. In fact this area was almost a rural part merged with the town limit in 1996. Most of the households have small sized single structures containing Kitchen and toilet, small houses without any bedrooms. The local villagers to let out for rent have built some of the houses of this kind. Often such small households are occupied by daily wageworkers. (See table No. 6.9 and figure no. 6.2)
Contrary to this scenario, the absence of this kind of a simple structure without bedrooms can be seen in good residential areas like parts of Pete, K.S. Garden, M.B. Shankarappa Layout, H.B. Colony and Vinayakanagar (South). It is obvious that these are not newly formed layouts but also are occupied by relatively well-off urban community of Tiptur town.
Households with One Bedroom:
It is quite common in a commercial cum administrative town like Tiptur to have 30.3% of households with one bedroom facility. See table No. 6.9 a careful glance of the Table reveals that except some recently built planned residential areas such as Shankareppa layout, K.R. Extension and a part of Doddapete have only 10.15% of their households of single bed room type. But a vast majority of remaining localities have this kind of one bed room houses. For example, places like a part of Kote, Annapura, Marangere have 21-31% of their houses of one bedroom category. This may be due to lack of space and also for economic reasons. Most of the lower middle class ends up in this kind of single bedroom dwellings. Due to similar socio economic reasons single bed roomed houses in the range of 31 to 40% can be seen in Gandhinagar, Goragondanahalli and Kanchaghatta.
A sizeable percentage of single bedroom houses in the range of 40-60% of the households surveyed can be seen in localities like Housing Board Colony, part of K.R. Extension and Kote. As a matter of fact, in these localities deliberate single bedroom houses have been built for the purpose of providing houses for middle class on rent.
Table No.6.9
Number of Bedrooms in each selected house holds in Tiptur town 2000-2001
Households with Two Bedrooms:
A common feature of the Indian middle class in urban settlements is to own a decent two bedroom house. It is this middle class population which outnumbers any other sections of the Indian urban population that is responsible for that the presence of highest percentage of households with two bedroom facilities. Tiptur town is not an exception to such urban housing amenity scenario. Hence we see in surveyed households about 35.6% of households have two bedrooms usually with a bathroom, a drawing Hall and a Kitchen. A detailed observation of Table No. 6.9, it reveals that relatively economically better urban localities such as K.R. Extension, Shankarappa Layour, Vinayakanagar etc., have 50 to 70% of households with two bed room facility.
Similarly two bed room housing with 31 to 50% is observed during the field study in Doddapete, parts of Gandhinagar and Goragondanahalli as also major parts of Vidyanagara, Shadaksharamut Layout, Sharadanagara, and Housing Board Colony.
A good number of wards in Tiptur have two bed room houses which account for 11 to 30% of households. They are part of Kote, Pete, K.S. Garden and part of Gandhinagar, Kanchagatta, Maranagere. These areas are partly commercial and partly residential with varying socio economic conditions. Here economically better of middle class families have houses with two bedrooms.
Nonetheless, a small percentage of two bedroom houses can be seen in localities such as Nalanda school area near Mavinathopu. It is evident from the study and also the Table that most of the Mavinathopu areas are dwelt by poor classes only. In contrast, houses around Nalanda School provide a better picture.
Localities with Three Bed roomed Houses:
In the urban areas of class III commercial town Tiptur, upper middle lass section of the society consisting of mostly trading community and officials go in for such big houses. Apart from having bigger site dimensions (13X20 mts.) these houses, have fairly bigger drawing hall, a kitchen, bed rooms with attached bathrooms with three bed roomed facility. From the study it is evident that a sizable section of business community (Lingayat, Vysyas, jains, Brahmins etc.), have this kind of relatively spacious housing amenities. Predominantly this kind of housing can be seen in parts of kote, Pete area where 21-25% of studied households have three beds roomed housing.
In the town as a whole, three bed roomed houses account for 13.1% of total households surveyed. The study reveals that the eastern edge of Mavinthopu Locality has a very small percentage of three bed-roomed houses.
A sizable percentage of three bed roomed houses can be seen in Southern Vinayakanagar (15-20%) K.S. Garden parts of Kote, Goragondanahalli and M.B. Shankarappa Layout. Economically better-off people here have constructed three bed roomed houses (11 to 15%). Between 6 to 10% of surveyed houses in Doddapete, parts of Gandhinagar, Maranagere, Kanchagatta have three bed roomed houses. Of course relatively upper middle class people of these areas have such three bed roomed houses. A part of the Housing Board Colony has three bed roomed houses which are not constructed by the Housing Board but by economically better off people owning sites.
Localities with Four and above Bedrooms:
In the towns and cities of India it is quite common to see aristocratic business communities of the town industrialists and former big landowners (Zamindars) owning unusually big households. It is their economic position, which has led them to go in for bigger houses some of which are joint families even now. A cursory look at the Table No. 6.9 reveals that in Tiptur town as a whole, roughly 55% of the total surveyed households have 4 bed roomed houses, about 2.1% of households has 5 bed roomed houses, about 1% of households have unusually big houses with 6 bedrooms. There are some houses accounting for less than 0.4% of households surveyed with seven bedrooms. The study has also revealed that there are some houses with 8 to 10 bedrooms. Of course these are found in fairly large number in Pete area Old business communities, which settle early in the town (before 1930s), have such bigger houses. Along the railway station road one can see this kind of big houses occupied by copra merchants. It is need ness to mention that in a medium sized small town Tiptur, unlike the bigger cities, this kind of large house are rarely found on the out skirts of the town.
TOTAL BUILT-UP FLOOR AREA IN HOUSEHOLDS OF TIPTUR TOWN 2000-2001:
In the study of households and the socio economic scenario of urban community of Tiptur town, an attempt has been made to study the total floor areas built up area of households. For this purposes, a random sample of 1500 households have been selected in 18 wards of Tiptur town (See Table No. 6.10). A study of this kind indirectly denotes the prevailing socio economic status of the people.
Poor Residential Households and Floor Area:
A glance at Table No. 6.10 provides the detailed information on the built up floor area of the households of various selected 18 localities of Tiptur town. For the convenience of explanation, the floor areas of first three columns can be taken as poor households. In Tiptur town as a whole, about 1.8% of sample households have floor area below 150 sq. feet. About 7.4% of households have 151-300 sq. feet, which come under the poor house holds. In addition another 8.4% of households have a floor area of 301-450 sq. feet, which also fall in the poor class residential area.
As mentioned previously, poor class localities such as Mavinathopu, Gandhinagar and to some extent even Kote area have this kind of small sized households. In the case of Mavinathopu and Gandhinagar, it is the social factor that is responsible for small sized households, with lower floor space. Due to historical reasons the agricultural community lived in the Kote area. The same people inhabit this area but some of them have changed their profession. This community even now lives in the same locality in small country tiled houses. It is obvious that in the newly developed and better residential extensions such as Gandhinagar Shankarappa Layout, Vidyanagara, S.M. Layout etc. this kind of small house are almost either absent or in small quantity.
Floor Area of Lower Middle Class Households:
In the present investigation of the scenario of households of Tiptur town, households with floor area of 451-600 and 601-800 sq. feet have been considered under lower middle class households for purposes of convenience. Households with 451-600 sq. ft. account for 11.3% in Tiptur town. These two groups together form lower middle class and account for nearly 25% of floor area of the total households in the town (See Table No. 6.10). These households are the ones with which the second largest floor area in the town. They are almost ubiquitous in distribution in the town. However, their presence is high, in wards like Gandhinagar and its sub unit. At the same time a lower percentage of such households can be seen in K.R.Extension abd very little of them in M.B. Shankarappa layout.
Table No. 6.10
Floor Area of households in the selected wards of Tiptur Town (2000-2001)
Floor Area of Upper Middle Class Households
In the study of housing scenario of Tiptur, households with floor area of 801 to 1200 sq. ft. and 1201-1500 sq. feet have been considered as upper middle class households. Table No. 6.10 reveals that highest number of households in the town that is 48.9%, have a floor area of 801-200 sq. ft. the fact that almost 50% of the households in Tiptur towns belong to this category (800-1200 sq. ft.) also in an indicator to the economic prosperity of the town. Indirectly this denotes that over 50% of population is relatively economically better-off. This investigation affirms this socio economic scenario. Added to this about 10% of the households with their floor area of 1200-1500 sq. ft. are included in this category of households for the sake of convenience.
The highest percentage of such large households can be seen in K.R. Extension, M.B. Shankarappa Layout, Vinayakanagar South. A rather very low percentage of them can be seen in Railway Station Road, K.S. Garden and Kote areas (See Plate No. 6.2).
Floor Area of Upper Class Households:
Like any economically prosperous town, Tiptur town, being a commercially important class three town, has about 5.7% of the sampled households in the category of 1500-1800 sq. ft. floor space. There is also one more category of 1800 sq. ft. and above households denoting that these two are upper class residential households. There is a over-whelming. Presence of these large sized households, which belong to rich business community, found in Doddapete, K.S Garden, Vinayakanagar. To some extent they are found in Shankarappa Garden, Kote, Goragondanahalli, Maranagere also in small percentages.
STATUS OF AMENITIES IN HOUSEHOLDS OF TIPTUR TOWN 2000-2001:
Socio-economic scenarion of people can be indirectly studied by considering the presence or absence of certain amenities like toilets, the condition and status of drainages and bathrooms in the households of the area under consideration. In this direction an attempt has been made to study the amenities in Tiptur town for the sampled households. For this purpose 1500 households have been selected in wards of Tiptur town (See table No. 6.11)
Table No.6.11
Status of Amenities in Households of Tiptur Town (2000-2001)
Toilet Facility:
A detailed study to Table No. 6.11 reveals that in Tiptur town as whole, about 66% households have toilet facilities. It also means that still considered number of households do not have their toilets in the houses. While economically better off localities such as K.R. Extension, M.B. Shankrappa Layout, H.B. Colony, Shadaksharamut extension, Parts of Kote, Pete etc. have 100% toilet facilities. But localities such Mavinathopu slum, Goragondanahalli, Maranagere, Kanchagatta and annapura have poor toilet facilities. Reasons are obvious. These are either poor class slum localities or some of them are recently merged (1996) village localities into a town like Tiptur which was commercial facilities both in the town as well as rich coconut hinterland. Some of the aforesaid localities do not have toilet facilities even when urban life is entering 21 century (See figure No. 6.3)
Drainage Facility:
The field investigation has brought to light that even to date (2001) this famous copra-trading town does not have the underground drainage facility. It is surprising to note that a town of this size still lacks a sound drainage system. This means that Tiptur still has only an open drainage system. Often the drainage leads to near by tank and other small canals. Sewage in Tiptur town is untreated and it is not uncommon to see pools of sewerage water in many wards, particularly in Mavinathopu, Maranagere and Kanchagatta localities. Untreated sewerage pools due to the lack of underground drainage can be observed even in the decent localities of Vinayakanagar, Shankarappa Layout, Vidyanagar, S.M. Layout; Shankarappa Garden etc. in the town as a whole 76.8% of the households have drainages. But there are open drainages. This also denoted that 23.2% of households do not event have the open drainage. It is a sad commentary that Tiptur is yet to step into the era of open drainage system in spite of the scientific and technological developments that have taken place in the world. Where is Harappa and Mahenjadaro urban civilization as long ago as to 3000 B. C. and where is Tiptur which is yet to realize the benefits of twentieth century (See Table No. 6.11 and Figure No. 6.4).
Bathroom Facility:
Under the study of housing scenario of Tiptur town an endeavor has been made to study the households with and without bathroom facility. Compared to the drainage and toilet scenario of Tiptur town, the house holds with bathroom facilities has touched 88.9% of households, which have bathroom facilities. It may be attributed to the predominance of Hindu community where regular bathing is a common feature. Although having systematic drainage and toilet facilities are optional, bathroom is a must. Often even the households of slum localities have a bathroom constructed with thatched or waste materials. Surprisingly, about 11% of total surveyed houses do not have bathroom facilities. The absence of bathroom is high in localities such as Mavinathopu, Annapura, Kanchaghatta and part of Kote (See Table No. 6.1 and Figure No. 6.5)
ECONOMIC PARAMETERS OF HOUSEHOLDS IN TIPTUR TOWN 2000-2001:
As a part of understanding the socio economic status of the urban community of Tiptur town, an effort has been made to study certain economic aspects like households with or without, radio, T.V., telephone, bicycle, two wheelers, four wheelers and Bank accounts. Some of these economic parameters certainly throw light on the economic condition of people. Some economic aspects have already been dealt with in this chapter (See Table No. 6.12 and Figure No. 6.6).
Households and Radio:
A detailed study of Table No. 6.12 reveals that nearly 55.8% of the households have this common and cheaper equipment of entertainment. In this age of television, majority of households, both rich and middle classes normally own television and radio while very poor people have radio. Two in one audio sets are ubiquitously found in all the localities of the Tiptur town. However, certain localities like Mavinathopu and Annapura have comparatively low percentage of radio sets. Affluent localities like K.R. Extension, Vinayakanagar, Sharadhanagar, Vidyanagar etc., also have a high percentage of people owning radio sets.
Households and Television:
The establishment of Television centre in the year 1982 in Bangalore initiated the owning up of T.V. sets slowly in a far-off town like Tiptur (144 Kms). However, a large section of households of Tiptur started having T.V. sets started with the establishment of low power transmission center in the year 1989. At the time of present investigation (2000-2001) compared to households owning radio, the households owing T.V. sets are higher in number. In Tiptur town as a whole, over 71% of the households surveyed have T.V. sets. Only 29% are without T.V. sets. This high rate of presence of T.V. in the households is because of Two factors (1) Owning a T.V. set is a socially prestige issue; (2) Tiptur being a commercial town with a variety of tertiary occupations, a large section of people are able to buy T.V. sets. However, one cannot rule out the raising popularity of television due to the availability of multiple channels through cable network.
The detailed study of Table No. 6.12 reveals that economically better off localities such as Shankarappa Layout, K.R. Extension, H.B. Colony, Pete, Kote, etc., where we see officials and business class households owning T.V. are as high as 75 to 965 of the surveyed households. Contrary to this, relatively economically poor extensions such as Mavinathopu, Gandhinagar etc., have low percentage of households with T.V. sets.
Telephone Facility in the Households of Tiptur Town 2000-2001:
Under the socio-economic parameters of Tiptur town an important economic indication, telephone facility, has been taken into consideration. Table no. 6.12 gives the details of the presence of absence of telephone facility in the sampled households. A glance at the aforesaid Table shows that about 27.4% of households have telephone facility at home. This leaves another 72.6% without telephone of their own in their households. However, almost 100% of urban population has access to telephone facility, within a radius of 100-150 meters. This is evident from the field study and also the development of telecommunications since 1990 by way of S.T.D. booths in an urban area like Tiptur.
Nevertheless, a detailed observation of Table No. 6.12 shows area such as Shankarappa Layout and Vinayakanagar have a remarkable ownership of individual telephones (77.1%) and Vinayakanagar comes second with 60%. This is indeed remarkable for a small town like Tiptur. However, because of its rich copra trading community and other businessmen, with government and non-government employees in these two localities contribute for this highest presence of telephones among surveyed localities.
The second highest density of telephones can be seen in wards like K.R. Extension (33%-35%), Pete and Kote (30%-39%). Again the presence of large business community with their variety of commercial establishments has led to the presence of highest number of telephone. The same business community contributes to the high density of telephones in their respective residential areas.
However, a significant contradiction in a developing economy is the simultaneous presence of the rich and poor localities with economic indicator like telephones. This is evident from the field work whose results are shown in Table No. 6.12. They indicate that wards like Mavinathopu, Annapura, Goragondanahalli, Maranagere, Gandhinagar have rather poor percentage of telephones within their households.
Bicycle Facility in Households of Tiptur Town:
In this part of the country even now bicycles is still a common mode of transportation of sizable population. The lower middle class and poor section of urban community often heavily depends on this cheap and economical means of transportation for short distances. Unfortunately mopeds and motor cycles are fast replacing this environment friendly transportation especially in towns like Tiptur.
An attempt has been in this section to study the extent to which the urban community is using these environment friendly vehicles. A study of Tiptur town Table No 6.12 under bicycle usage shows that, on an average, in the sample households, 42.5% of households have bicycles. A detailed study indicates that rural localities within the urban limits like Kancheghatta, Goragodanahalli, Maranagere have households with bicycle in a range of 52.63%. This relatively high percentage can be attributed to the sub urban locations where the householders or children are using bicycles either to take themselves to town or the products from the center of the town to their homes. Even business areas like Pete, Doddapete, K.S. Garden wards have relatively higher percentage of households with bicycle 62.8%, 50% and 55.9% respectively.
Economically better-off areas like K.R. Extension, M.B. Shankarappa Layout, Vinayakanagar have relatively lower percentage of households with bicycles. A special mention must be made of Mavinathopu and to some extent of Gandhinagar where the former has 21% and the latter 35.6% of bicycles. This is mainly due to the presence of very poor classes of people.
Two Wheelers in Tiptur Town:
In the last twenty years there is an remarkable growth in the owning of two wheelers like Scooters, Mopeds and variety of motorcycles. This is mainly because of the rise in level of income particularly in urban areas. This is also due to the verified manufacturing and marketing of two wheelers in urban areas of India. In the big cities and other urban settlements there is a rather poor internal mass-transportation facility. These factors have led to the possession of a variety of two wheelers as a necessity and also items of luxury cum show-off. It is quite common to see people using two wheelers to carry both men and materials and often both.
A glance at Table No. 6.12 under two wheelers shows that, in a sample of 1500 households in various localities of Tiptur town, nearly 30% of households have one or the other kind of two wheelers type motor vehicles. Though there is an absence of comparative data on this issue certainly Tiptur being a commercial town has considerable scooters and motor cycles.
Further, a detailed study of Tables No. 6.12 under two wheelers tells that relatively economically well-off localities like, Shankrappa Layout (67.1%), Vinayakanagar (63.3%), and even commercial part of Kote (71.4) have highest households with two wheelers.
It is a common feature to observe few households having two wheelers in localities like Mavinathopu and Gandhinagar which are poor class residential areas (6%-9.9% respectively). Though they are poor class residential area, a petty shop owner or flower vendor or the sub-overseer of building construction who live in this locality have two wheelers.
Four Wheelers in Tiptur town:
Four wheeled motor vehicles, which have increased in Tiptur in recent years, consists of cars, jeeps, and other light motor vehicles such as Vans. These are increasingly being uses for transporting both men and materials. For the past ten years (1990 onwards) there is an increased availability of a variety of cars and light motor vehicles for the urban rich. Especially the commercial towns like Tiptur have seen remarkable growth is not only motorcars and other light motor vehicles. It is not uncommon to see that there are an increased number of minivans between Tiptur and its surrounding towns in its radial roots. These are both for personnel transportation and hire.
A glance at Table No 6.12 under four wheelers reveals in that Tiptur town as a whole 6.3% of the households have four wheeler motor vehicles. A further glance at this Table also reveals that in wards like Shankrappa Layout almost 23% of the households have one or other type of four wheelers. This may be attributed to the presence of both rich merchant class and also fairly rich officials. It is followed by Vinayakanagar with 10%, K.R. Extension with 10.8% and K.S. Garden 10.3% which are moderately, economically well off.
The lesser density of four wheelers in the wards of Maavinathopu, Gandhinagara, Annapura and Kanchaghatta as opposed to a higher density of them in the Kote, Pete and Doddapet, K.R. Extension, Shankarappa Layout and Vinayakanagara reflects the economic status of the people who inhabit these wards.
Households with Bank Accounts in Tiptur:
It is interesting to note that undertaking a survey of this kind proved to be a difficult exercise. People in general and the business communities in particular were reluctant to reveal. Even simple information such as the number and type of bank accounts due to fear of taxation. For this reason, information in this regard had to be obtained by indirect means.
A glance at the last item of Table no. 6.12 and Figure no. 6.7 reveals that the true economic character of this commercial town. It is certainly remarkable that by the turn of the last century 52.3% of the town’s households have bank accounts. This is because of three factors. Firstly, Tiptur is a unique commercial trading centre of copra, which has established its trading transaction all over the country. This necessitated the establishment of various commercial banks in the town. Secondly, along with trade transactions the growth in literacy and official transactions have necessitated the opening up of various banks in the town. Thirdly the business community with its growing sense of savings. Security for their finances and valuable assets like jewelry in lockers, have led to increased number of commercial banks in the town. Now Tiptur town (2001) boasts of having 18 branches of different commercial banks.
A careful glance at Table no. 6.12 shows the relationship between the affluent localities and high percentage of households having bank accounts. Hence, it can be seen in Tiptur town, that the localities such as Shankarappa Layout, Vinayakanagara, K.R. Extension, H. B. Colony and its surroundings have with bank accounts in range of 77.8 to 93.3%, this is followed by old commercial core localities like Kote, Pete, Doddapete, K.S Garden, which have a moderate range of 48.1-58.8% of households with bank accounts. As can be expected the poor localities like Mavinthopu, Gandhinagar, Goragondanahally, Annapura have a lower range of 10-36.3% fo house holds with bank accounts. However, Tiptur being a commercial town with good number of educational institutions and increased interaction with its hinterland, over 50% of its households have bank accounts. It is not only shows the economic importance of the town but also the growing economic interaction of its population.
SOURCES OF DRINKING WATER OF TIPTUR TOWN:
Most of the urban settlements of various sizes have originated and evolved at the locations, where there are adequate sources of drinking water. Throughout the human history, it can be seen that urban settlements- commercial, industrial or political centres – have either attached science and technology or they themselves are the centres of such technological developments. The technological development, particularly in the building materials and bringing drinking water to the urban centers, are very important developments in the growth of urban settlements. This is amply evident in the rise and rapid growth of urban settlements since industrial revolution in various parts of the world. Along with other economic resources, one of he major aspects which either by river or by other sources like sweet water lake as can be seen in Canadian and Scandinavian towns. Similarly, aquifers in Southeast Australian town in downs.
Table No. 6.13
Sources of Drinking Water in Tiptur Town 2000-2001
| Sl. No. | Sources | No. of households | Percentage |
| 1 | Municipal taps | 2252 | 90.08 |
| 2 | Hand pumps | 120 | 4.8 |
| 3 | Tube wells | 115 | 4.6 |
| 4 | Other sources | 13 | 0.52 |
Source: Personal Survey in 18 wards of Tiptur town (2,500 sample households)
In this section, an attempt has been made to study the sources of drinking water in Tiptur town. For this purpose, sample sized of 2500 households have been selected randomly from 18 selected wards of Tiptur town. A study of Tiptur town Table no. 6.13 shows 90% of selected households get water from municipal taps. From the field study it is seen that Tiptur town municipality is heavily dependent upon ground water that is tube walls, which are popularly known as bore wells. Tiptur municipality has dug bore wells in various parts of the town (300 feet and above). Water was lifted to the overhead tanks and supplied to households and even public taps till 1996. in 1996, for the first time, Tiptur town got Hemavathi water ( a tributary Cauvery River). At present Hemavathi canal water is lifted to Eechanoor tank which is higher than the canal. The Eechanoor tank is at a distance of 5 Kms from Tiptur town. Water is lifted again to the treatment plant, which is in the Gandhinagar area. After the treatment water is again lifted to the overhead tanks and potable water is supplied to households and public taps. The sample study has revealed that 90% of households have this kind of municipal water source. However, the people of Tiptur town get tap water only twice a week.
The study further revealed that prior to 1996 Tiptur town was entirely dependent upon ground water (bore wells). The present twice a week water supply appears to be adequate but it is far from urban standards of water supply. The municipal taps include the individual household’s taps which are in large number almost in every household in areas like K.R. Extension, M.B.S. Layout, H.B. Colony, Vinayakanagar, Pete and Kote. However, the poor residential localities like Gandhinagar, Maavinathopu, Neharunagar etc., are almost dependent up on public taps. The new extensions like Maranagere, Goragondanhalli, Annapura naturally do no have municipal water supply. They heavily depend on ground water, which is scarce. Even economically well-off households also depend on distant source of water supply, which consists of fetching water from mini water supply well nearby garden or a poor yielding bore well.
Hand pumps as Source of Water:
Since, 1982 both rural and urban areas of Karnataka have been experiencing a revelation in the drilling of bore wells and lifting of water through handpumps. The credit must go to Janab Nazeer Sab who became popular as “Neer Sabru”. Even in Tiptur town hundreds of bore wells were drilled and hand pumps were fixed. In fact this improved the water supply to both middle and poor classes. It is evident by taking a stroll across the town. The present investigation has revealed that among surveyed households about 5% are still getting hand pumps, for their needs of drinking water. It is needless to mention that the poor residential areas and outskirts are dependent up on these hand pumps (See Plate No. 10)
Tube Wells or Bore wells as Source of water:
The present study has revealed that certain individual households even in relatively well-off localities have their own water supply from tube wells. Town municipality has drilled bore wells and has created mini water supply schemes where a group of households depend upon tube wells. The study shows that 4.6% of households are getting from tube wells linked water supply.
Other Sources:
The field study indicates that households in the areas lying very close to town limits (new extension) and village limits have water supply from other sources. This includes, getting water from far away sources like bore wells in the garden, hand pumps, bore wells or even from lifting water through pipes. But, these poor households account for less than 1% of households taken for samples.
SOURCE OF LIGHTING IN THE HOUSEHOLDS OF TIPTUR TOWN:
Erstwhile princely Mysore State has the distinction of generating hydroelectric power as early as 1902 at Shivanasamudra from river Cauvery. It was this hydroelectric first that was supplied to K.G.F. and then to Bangalore and Mysore. Subsequently, electricity was supplied to neighboring districts like Tumkur. The records show that Tiptur town got electricity supply in the year 1940.
Table No. 6.14
Sources of Lighting in the households of Tiptur Town 2000-2001
| Sl. No. | Sources | No. of households | Percentage (%) |
| 1 | Electric power | 2290 | 91.6 |
| 2 | Kerosene | 203 | 8.12 |
| 3 | Solar power | 3 | 0.12 |
| 4 | Households with out lighting | 4 | 0.16 |
| Total | 2500 | 100 |
Source: Personal Survey in 18 wards of Tiptur town (2,500 sample households)
Karnataka state has a distinction of providing electricity to a large section of both rural and urban communities. Even urban poor has been given at least one bulb connection under Bhagya Jyothi Scheme. Power supply is given to any house constructed in an urban area without much delay. From the study of Table no. 6.14 in the sample households of 2300 distributed in various parts of the town, about 91.6% of households have electric connection. In economically well-off localities like Pete, Doddapete, K.S. Garden, K.R. Extension, Shankarappa Layout etc., the households have not only a good number of power connections but they also have A.E.H. (all electric homes).
It is quite common in not only Tiptur town but in various urban areas that there is a shortage of electric power both for cooking and for lighting. This has led to the dependency of households on non-electric power supply like kerosene for lighting, particularly poor localities and villages like parts of Gandhinagar. Maranagere, Goragondanhalli, etc, still depend on Kerosene. However, the economic condition is highly responsible than the availability of electricity in using kerosene as a source of lighting. The study has shown that in the surveyed households 8.12% of the households use kerosene as a source of lighting.
During the field investigation it has been found that very poor people (beggars) who live in huts do not have their own lighting but depend up on some public source of lighting. They sleep at dusk and wake up at dawn and account for less than 0.2% of sampled households.
SOURCES OF FUEL IN THE HOUSEHOLDS OF TIPTUR TOWN:
Under the socio-economic study of Tiptur town another related aspect has been considered and that is sources of fuel used by the households for cooling and heating purposes. Tiptur town, being in the vicinity of coconut growing areas has sample agro based furl. This consists of the coconut tree products like the leaves, the shell, the husk, etc., which are even used by the urban population of the town. Hence, it is seen that this agricultural waste and fire wood together accont for the largest amount of the fuel used by highest number of households. 43.24% compared to economically well off locations such as K.R. Extension, Shankarappa Layout, Vinayakanagar, K.S. Garden, and Shadakaharamutt Layout. The village limits of town and poor localities, due to their nearness and availability of source of this kind of fuel have led to a large scale use of agricultural waste and fire wood.
Table no. 6.15
Sources of fuel in the households of Tiptur Town 2000-2001
| Sl. No. | Source | No of households | Percentage |
| 1 | Fire wood and agricultural waste products | 1081 | 43.24 |
| 2 | Kerosene | 372 | 14.88 |
| 3 | L.P. Gas | 1023 | 40.92 |
| 4 | Electricity | 9 | 0.36 |
| 5 | Other sources | 12 | 0.48 |
| 6 | Houses with out cooking | 3 | 0.12 |
| Total | 2500 | 100 |
Source: Personal Survey in 18 wards of Tiptur town (2,500 sample households)
Tiptur is a commercial town, where a large number of households an afford new source of fuel like L.P.G.(liquefied petroleum gas). In fact this is the recorded highest source of fuel among the surveyed households (See Table No.6.15) L.P.G is used as a fuel in about 40.9% of the households. Certainly its large use can be seen in areas like Kote, Pete, K.R. Extension, Vinayakanagar, Shadakaharamutt Layout, Hospalya.
Kerosene as a source of fuel can be seen in almost 15% of the households for cooking. The lower middle and poor classes often use kerosene for fuel. These localities can be found all over Gandhinagar, parts of Kote, Mavinathopu and Hosapalya.
It is interesting to mote that a very little percentage of households use electricity as a source of fuel (0.36%) though there are 40 to 50% households in the town which have A.E.H. facility. The high cost of electricity as a source fuel has led to a low percentage of households using electricity as fuel. At the same time the large-scale availability of agricultural products in the economically well-off urban community of the town cannot be ignored. These factors have led to the use of L.P.G or Agro products which together account for84% of source of fuel in Tiptur town. Of-late, it is quite common to see solar water heaters in the skyline of Tiptur town. The reflection of sunlight in the middle of coconut and other trees by the panels of the solar water heaters not only reflect the excess sunlight but also are indicators of use of environment friendly source of power. The investigator has a definite conviction that the commercial trading community will currently go in for this unconventional and economically viable fuel in the days to come, though at present it accounts for less than 1% of the households.
SLUM AREAS IN TIPTUR TOWN:
Slums are like a cancer in the human body. In a way, they are the consequences of science and technology, and their influence on urban growth. Above all, slums are the resultant features of rapid growth of population both in rural and urban areas. The growing poverty, both in rural and urban areas leads to the multiplicity of slums in urban settlements. Particularly in the third world countries like India, class one cities have a large number of slums. In the latter-half of the last quarter of the previous century, the growth of slum areas can be seen even in medium and small sized towns. This is mainly because of the growing rural poverty and certain “social push factors”. The growing job opportunities in urban areas (construction, daily wages etc.) are responsible for the migration of landless labourers and other unemployed families to the urban areas. When these people migrate into urban areas they end-up in the government vacant land and other open places.
In the present investigation an endeavor has been made to study all the slum areas of Tiptur town (See Table No. 6.16 and Figure No. 6.8). they study has revealed that in all there are 2300 slum households in Tiptur town accounting for a total population of 9962, in 1999-2000. The detailed field study has further revealed that there is an unusual buildup of slum areas in the southern part of Tiptur town. This is particularly true of Gandhinagar area. Its sub areas like Bovicolony, Tamil colony, A.K. Colony, Gurappanakatte, Dasthagirkatte, R.C.C. Tank area, Indiranagara, Arsunagar are the important slum areas (See figure no. 6.8)
Considering the detailed analysis of slum areas, R.C.C. Tank area with majority Muslim population has the highest number of households. This area accounts for the highest percentage of slum households (20.9%) and also accounts for 20% of total slum population in the town. The main occupation of these inhabitants is cart pulling, daily wage work, rag picking and carpentry same people are also engaged in small trade.
The second largest slum area within Gandhinagar zone is Indiranagara. The slum accounts for 10.6% of slum households with 10.1% of the total slum population of the town. However, the slum population of this area is rather heterogeneous in composition. Broadly it consists of S.C, S.T, of Karnataka, migrant Tamilian population and a small percentage of Muslims. Compared to R.C.C. Tank slum dwellers these people are relatively better off because most of them are house constructers, Carpenters and petty traders in occupation.
In the study of slums of Tiptur town, Maavinathopu locality needs a special reference. The field investigation has revealed that there is a high density of slum households in the form of huts (See Plate no. 10). This slum has a high concentration of Tamilians, Telugu speaking population and Muslim population. Female population of this slum is engaged in occupations like housemaids, manufacturing of incense sticks (agarbathi), beedi rolling etc.
Male population of this slum is engaged in construction work, daily wages labourer, cart pulling etc. unfortunately, poverty and unemployment has led them some times to negative human occupations like bagging for livelihood.
There is another important slum in the broad Gandhinagar zone namely Grappanakatte. The slum population of this area consists of stone sutters, (Bovil), migrate Tamilians local weaker Sections (S.C and S.T)and Muslims etc. apart from their usual occupations, the special feature of these slum dwellers is there, they working in A.P.M.C.(copra loading and unloading). Women of Tamil community are engaged in making brooms from coconut leaves sticks. It is not out of place to mention here that the broomsticks to Tiptur town are sent to North India.
A.K. Colony is a part of Gandhinagar slum area housing relatively economically better off slum population. The predominant S.C. community of this slum area is engaged in certain remunerative jobs in town municipality (menial jobs). They work in A.P.M.C. as middlemen some of them are even middlemen getting benefits from government offices (Municipality, B.D.O, Taluk offices etc.) to their own community. Even though the people here are poor, among the slums, this area has better permanent structures (small tiled houses and concrete structures).
The remaining 40% (approximately) of slum households and almost an equal amount of population are laying out side the aforesaid various slum areas of Gandhinagar. However, some of these slum areas are located beyond Gandhinagar zone in areas beside Muslim burial ground, and behind general hospital. Some who live in these slums are even engaged in good salaried jobs like peons and attenders in educational institutions and hospitals. But the majority of slum population in this area follows the usual occupation, like working in market areas and shops as casual labourers, construction workers etc. at the same time, investigation has revealed that a few slum dwellers also works in desiccated coconut industry, coir industry and other coconut based industries.
Table No. 6.16
Distribution of Poor Households in Tiptur Town 2000-2001
| Sl. No. | Location | No of Huts | % | Population | % |
| 1 | A.K. Colony | 180 | 7.8 | 408 | 4.1 |
| 2 | Behind General Hospital | 101 | 4.4 | 306 | 3.1 |
| 3 | Hippe Thopu | 35 | 1.5 | 146 | 1.4 |
| 4 | Behind Laxmi Theater | 33 | 1.4 | 133 | 1.3 |
| 5 | Tamil Colony | 80 | 3.4 | 412 | 4.1 |
| 6 | Bovi Colony | 85 | 3.7 | 330 | 3.3 |
| 7 | Gurappanakatte | 210 | 9.1 | 1050 | 10.5 |
| 8 | Karibasappa compound | 160 | 6.9 | 866 | 8.7 |
| 9 | Dastagirkatte | 130 | 5.6 | 640 | 6.4 |
| 10 | Indiranagara | 243 | 10.6 | 1012 | 10.1 |
| 11 | R.C.C. Tank area | 481 | 20.9 | 1998 | 20 |
| 12 | Neharunagar | 87 | 4.1 | 363 | 3.6 |
| 13 | Arasunagar | 89 | 3.9 | 470 | 4.7 |
| 14 | Sidlehalli Ashrama | 84 | 3.6 | 416 | 4.1 |
| 15 | Behind Muslim Burial ground | 91 | 3.9 | 418 | 4.2 |
| 16 | maavinathopu | 211 | 9.1 | 994 | 9.9 |
| Total | 2300 | 9962 |
EFFORTS TO SOLVE THE HOUSING PROBLEM:
Efforts at solving housing problem are three fold (1) Efforts by municipal authorities (2) Nature of Demand and supply (3) Steps by State Government.
(1) Housing problem reached its peak during 1980-1985. The Municipal authorities decided to extend the town area. Consequently, the “Karnataka Town and Country Planning Act 1961” was declared “Tiptur Local Planning Area” wide Government. Notification No HUD/335/TTP/96 dated 2/9/1996. The outline development plan has been targeted for the period 2011 for an anticipated population of 86,000 in the plan. The total land required for development has been considered 1160 hectares around the town out of which 457.50 hectares have been enmarked for residential purposes. This proposal has also been worked out for improving the road network and redevelopment of core area. As a result of this, agricultural and wasteland of seven villages have come under the use of Tiptur town. Theses are Bandihalli, Goragondanahalli, Maranagere, Kanchaghatta, Annapura, Halepalya, Hosapalya and Tiptur rural
(2) Demand and supply forces are considered for solving the housing problem of Tiptur town. Particularly form 1985 to 1995 prices of site and rent of houses shot up. For example, before 1985, site value in M.B. Shankarappa layout was Rs. 12 to 16 per Sq. feet. But in 1995, it reached Rs. 80 to 120. House rent also raised from Rs. 700 to 1500 and more for a double bedroom house. As demand and prices are very high, more sites have been converted from agricultural land. Rising of rent of houses attracted house builders for monetary purpose. Added to this, sufficient drinking water supply from Hemavathi project canal and attractive price for dry coconut during this period encouraged house builder. As a result of all these, hundreds of houses have been constructed in new extensions. But when speed of construction of houses crosses the level of demand some of houses remain vacant.
(3) Government has taken certain steps to solve the housing problems of Tiptur town particularly in slum areas. Under different projects and plans small houses were constructed and handed over to poor families. The following Table gives some steps taken by the state government, from 1996.
Table No. 6.17
Details of Houses allotted by Karnataka State Government for poor families
| Sl. No. | Year | No. of Houses Donated | Name of the Project | Money (Rs.) |
| 1 | 96-97 | 8 | Ashraya | 1,60,000-00 |
| 2 | 96-97 | 40 | Ambedkar | 8,00,000-00 |
| 3 | 97-98 | 63 | Ashraya | 15,75,000-00 |
| 4 | 98-2000 | 90 | Ashraya | 22,50,000-00 |
| 5 | 2000-2001 | 90 | Ambedkar | 22,50,000-00 |
| 6 | 2001-2002 | 90 |