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Gated Enclaves Soar Above Indian Slums

Wealthy Indians move into posh residences to escape impoverished cities

By Dustin Lushing, Newser Staff

Posted Jun 9, 2008 10:11 AM CDT

(Newser) – Gated communities are emerging across India to offer the country's growing group of wealthy professionals Western luxuries that the government cannot. One exclusive high-rise complex in Gurgaon, a suburb of Delhi, has its own security guards, landscaped lawns, and private school. Air conditioning, elevators, running water are all uninterrupted, while the slums that literally surround them suffer without power and water.

India's amenities are reserved for the few who can afford them, in contrast to Asia's other booming economy, China, where the government used public works projects to provide more of its citizens with clean water and basic schooling, reports the New York Times. The poverty rate in India has dipped in the last 17 years, but more than 25% of Indians still live on $1 a day and almost half of all Indian children are malnourished.

A village woman carries potted water as she walks in front of a backdrop of under construction high rise housing in Gurgaon, a suburb south of New Delhi, India, Wednesday, April 23, 2008. (AP Photo/Gurinder Osan)

Rescue workers try to pull out bodies of laborers injured by the collapse of a wall in Farrukhnagar, about 30 kilometers (19 miles) from Gurgaon, India, Sunday, May 18, 2008. At least 12 laborers were... (AP Photo)

A boy carries a bundle of twigs for laying a roof for his family's slum house, as he with others walk on a road under construction in Gurgaon, a suburb south of New Delhi, India, Wednesday, April 23,... (AP Photo/Gurinder Osan)

A boy carries a bundle of twigs for laying a roof in his family's slum house, in Gurgaon, a suburb south of New Delhi, India, Wednesday, April 23, 2008. Temperatures rose towards the 40 degree Celsius... (AP Photo/Gurinder Osan)

A family of workers sits near a kitchen fire at a makeshift shelter near a construction site, in Gurgaon, India, Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2008. In 2006, nearly 9.7 million children died worldwide before reaching... (AP Photo/Gurinder Osan)

A child of road construction workers sits near her parent's work site, in Gurgaon, India, Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2008. In 2006, nearly 9.7 million children died worldwide before reaching the age of 5, mostly... (AP Photo/Gurinder Osan)

A village woman carries potted water as she walks with others on an under construction road in Gurgaon, a suburb south of New Delhi, India, Wednesday, April 23, 2008. Temperatures rose towards the 40... (AP Photo/Gurinder Osan)

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Gated Enclaves Soar Above Indian Slums

Wealthy Indians move into posh residences to escape impoverished cities

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Obama Spins India Trip Into Job Mission

Critics scream about cost despite widely discredited report

Obama Relives Childhood Memories as Asia Trip Ends

Trip offered opportunities for personal moments

Obama Will Visit India in November

Calls partnership among his 'highest of priorities'

Asian Billionaires Storm Forbes Richest List

China adds remarkable share of world's newly minted billionaires

Microfinance Bubble Traps Poor in Debt

Predatory lenders offer easy cash with gouging interest rates

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Gated Enclaves Soar Above Indian Slums

Wealthy Indians move into posh residences to escape impoverished cities

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OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

India • Asia • poverty • economy • Hamilton Court • gated communities

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

Obama Spins India Trip Into Job Mission

Critics scream about cost despite widely discredited report

Obama Relives Childhood Memories as Asia Trip Ends

Trip offered opportunities for personal moments

Obama Will Visit India in November

Calls partnership among his 'highest of priorities'

Asian Billionaires Storm Forbes Richest List

China adds remarkable share of world's newly minted billionaires

Microfinance Bubble Traps Poor in Debt

Predatory lenders offer easy cash with gouging interest rates

About Us

Site

Newser By Users

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?