Class 8 Civics Chapter 9 Public Facilities In Text Questions and Answers
Page No. 108
Question 1.
You have seen the four situations illustrated above. Based on these, what impression do you get of the water situation in Chennai?
Answer:
- There are shortages of water in Chennai.
- There are areas which get water more regularly than others. In other words, there is an unequal distribution of water.
- Municipal supply meets only about half the needs of the people of the city on average.
Question 2.
Pick out the various sources of water for household use from the description alongside.
Answer:
- Municipal water
- Water tankers
- Borewell
- Bisleri jerry cans
Question 3.
What in your view, is similar, and what is different in Subramanian’s and Padma’s experiences?
Answer:
The similarity in Subramanian’s and Padma’s experiences are :
- Both of them suffer from water shortages.
- Borewell is used to meet water needs.
Differences in Subramanian’s and Padma’s experience are:
(1) Borewell water is brackish. Therefore, Subramanian purchased water from the tanker. The Padma used the borewell water for drinking and washing.
(2) Subramanian’s apartments got municipal water once in two days. The Padma lived in a slum area. Here water comes from a borewell for 20 minutes twice daily.
(3) In Subramanian’s apartment people fulfilled their need of water by buying it from tankers. While in Padma’s locality people had to wait long hours for water tankers and during summers one family got water only at the cost of another.
Question 4.
Write a paragraph describing the water supply situation in your area.
Answer:
Student, do yourself. Some hints are given on -next page for your convenience.
[Hints: For how many hours Municipal water is available daily. Whether people have private borewells or not. During which season water tankers are required. Whether people need to buy Bisleri jerry cans. If yes then why it is due to bad quality of water or shortage of water.]
Question 5.
Why does water flow in a trickle in summer in most places in India? Find out.
Answer:
Water flows in a trickle in summer in most places in India because :
- The small rivers dry up due to excessive heat.
- Since the consumption of borewell water increases, the level of underground water goes down.
- The consumption of water increases during summers and the Municipal Corporation is not efficient enough to fulfill the increased demand for water.
Question 6.
Discuss: Is there a general shortage of water for everyone in Chennai? Can you think of two reasons why different people get varying amounts of water?
Answer:
Yes, there is a general shortage of water for everyone in Chennai.
Different people get varying amounts of water because :
(1) A few persons who have a good approach in the government (Municipal Water Board) easily make arrangements for water tankers. Thus, water does not reach up to the masses.
(2) The people who are economically sound can easily buy water or have their own private borewell. The poor lack a water facility.
(3) State government has not taken proper steps regarding the distribution of water.
Page No. 111
Question 1.
Whose point of view do you agree with?
Answer:
We agree with the Amu’s point of view that is our Constitution recognises many of the public facilities as being a part of the Right to Life. The government must see that these rights are protected so that everyone can lead a decent life.
Page No. 112
Question 1.
What are public facilities? Why should the government be responsible for providing public facilities?
Answer:
There are essential facilities that need to be provided for everyone. For example, water, health care, and sanitation, electricity, public transport, schools, and colleges. These are known as public facilities Public facilities relate to people’s basic needs. Any modern society requires these facilities. The Right to Life that the constitution guarantees is for all persons living in this country. The responsibility to provide public facilities, therefore, must be of the government.
Question 2.
The government can get private companies to deliver some of the public facilities. For instance, contracts for building roads are given to private contractors. The distribution of electricity in Delhi is done by two private companies. However, the government must keep a close watch on these and ensure that they fulfill their commitment to reach these facilities to all people and at affordable prices.
Why do you think the government must assume the overall responsibility for public facilities even when it gets private companies to do part of the job?
Answer:
The government must assume the overall responsibility for public facilities even when it gets private companies to do part of the job. This has the following reasons:
- The private companies may provide public facilities only at a high price.
- If people are not provided with public facilities at an affordable price, it means they are deprived of the opportunity to live a decent life.
Question 3.
Look at your water bill and find out what the minimum rate is for municipal water in your area. Does the rate increase as the use of water increases? Why do you think the government charges a higher rate for greater use of water?
Answer:
Students should ask their parents to show the water bill and write the minimum rate for Municipal water in their area.
Yes, the rate increases as the use of water increases. It is quite obvious that for greater use of water government will charge a higher rate. It is also a way to control the increased consumption of water. People will fix a limit for the usage of water so that the amount of bill does not exceed.
Question 4.
Find out the various kinds of taxes people pay to the government by talking to a salaried person, a person running his or her own factory/business, and a shopkeeper. Share your findings in the classroom with your, teacher.
Answer:
The various kinds of taxes people pay to the government are :
- Income tax
- Excise duty
- Sales tax
- Service tax
Page No. 114
Question 1.
Discuss: Do you think this would be the right step? What do you think would happen if the(government withdraws from the task of supplying water?
Answer:
(1) The task of water supply should not be handed over to private companies.
(2) If the government withdraws from the task of supplying water, there could be a steep rise in the price of water making it unaffordable for many. It could lead to great unrest in the country. People will come out on the roads and protest against private companies.
Page No. 115
Question 1.
Discuss the main ideas in the above section. What do you think can be done to improve the water supply?
Answer:
Transferring the responsibility of water supply from the government to private companies is not the solution to improve the water supply. There are several other ways to improve the water supply. Some of them are as follows :
- Regular checking of water pipes through which water is supplied to the residential areas. If leakages are found, they should be repaired immediately.
- People must be made aware of water conservation.
- With the help of media, people must be taught the various ways of water conservation.
- People must be taught that through conserving water it is they will get benefit from it.
- Rainwater harvesting has been made popularised among the masses.
- There should be a check on the unequal. distribution of Municipal water especially at the time of water shortage by the government authorities.
Question 2.
Do you think it is also important to conserve resources like water and electricity and to use more public
transport?
Answer:
It is important to conserve resources like water and electricity because it will not lead to their shortages at the time of need. It is also important to use more-public transport to conserve fuel, avoid traffic jams, etc.
Page No. 116
Question 1.
Do you think that -lack of access to proper sanitation facilities affects peoples’ lives? How?
Answer:
Lack of access to proper sanitation facilities do affect peoples’ lives in the following ways :
- It gives rise to various water-borne and air-borne diseases.
- It deteriorates the environment.
- Various germs or bacteria germinate in dirty areas and lead to infectious diseases.
Question 2.
Why do you think that this would impact women and girls more acutely?
Answer:
It is the poor who lack access to sanitation. It mainly affects women and girls more acutely because males or boys belonging to the poor class generally go out for work Whereas females look after the household work. Since they spend most of their time in filthy conditions so they become victims of an unhealthy environment.
Class 8 Civics Chapter 9 Public Facilities Exercise Questions and Answers
Question 1.
Why do you think there are so few cases of private water supply in the world?
Answer:
Private companies work for a profit. Providing public facilities like water supply is not a profitable business. Moreover, the capital needed to provide water supply to the entire population is very high which very few private companies will be able to bear.
Question 2.
Do you think water in Chennai is available and affordable by all? Discuss.
Answer:
Water supply in Chennai is marked by shortages. Municipal supply meets only about half the needs of the people of the city, on average. Those areas that are close to the storage points get more water whereas colonies further away receive less water.
The burden of shortage in water supply falls mostly on the poor. The middle class, when faced with water shortages, is able to cope up through a variety of private means such as digging borewells, buying water from tankers, and using bottled water for drinking.
Question 3.
How is the sale of water by farmers to water dealers in Chennai affecting the local people? Do you think local people can object to such exploitation of groundwater? Can the government do anything in this regard?
Answer:
Many private companies are providing water to cities due to a shortage of water supply by the government organization. These companies buy water from places around the city.
In Chennai, water is taken from nearby towns like Mamandur, Palur, Karungizhi, and from villages to the north of the city using a fleet of over 13,000 water tankers. Every month the water dealers pay farmers an advance for the rights to exploit water sources on their land.
The water that is taken away from the farms is creating a deficit for irrigation and for drinking water for the villagers. There is also a drastic drop in groundwater levels in these areas. The local people have a right to object to this exploitation and the government has the power to stop this.
Question 4.
Why are most of the private hospitals and private schools located in major cities and not in towns or rural areas?
Answer:
Most of the private hospitals and private schools are located in major cities and not in towns or rural areas because :
- People living in major cities can afford to send their children to private schools or get treatment in private hospitals.
- In cities, the people lead a busy life where they prefer to get their work done fast by taking appointments in spite of standing in long queues in government schools or hospitals.
- Various facilities like transportation, electricity, water supply are easily available in major cities in comparison to towns or rural areas.
Question 5.
Do you think the distribution of public facilities in our country is adequate and fair? Give an example of your own to explain.
Answer:
The distribution of public facilities in our country is neither adequate nor fair. for example, the Delhites avail all public facilities like water, healthcare and sanitation, electricity, public transport, schools, and colleges. But if we go a few kilometers away, for example, Mathura or Aligarh people face grave crises of public facilities. Electricity cut-off, water shortages are a normal routine of life. Public transport is also not properly developed.
Question 6.
Take some of the public facilities in your area, such as water, electricity, etc. Is there scope to improve these? What in your opinion should be done? Complete the table.
Answer:
| Is it available? | How can it be improved? | |
| Water | Yes If No | – By construction of a separate water tank in our area. |
| Electricity | Yes If No | – Electricity should not be wasted, electricity theft should be checked. |
| Roads | Yes If No | – By construction of flyovers, new roads, and highways. |
| Public Transport | Yes If No | – By introducing new buses. |
Question 7.
Are the above public facilities shared equally by all the people in your area? Elaborate.
Answer:
- No, the above public facilities are not shared equally by all the people in our area. People, livings in the slum area, are getting very few facilities.
- Municipal supply meets only about half of the needs.
- For the remaining half people take the help of private means.
- Public facilities like healthcare facilities are now being charged. The poor fail to get these facilities.
- Due to rush most of the people do not avail of governmental public facilities like healthcare, etc.
Question 8.
Data on some of the public facilities are collected as part of the Census. Discuss with your teacher when and how the Census is conducted.
Answer:
Census is conducted after every ten years. For conducting census the government officials, teachers are deputed to collect the data from every house. Deputed officials are provided a questionnaire which has to be filled by them according to information they get from people. The old data are deleted and new data are included.
Question 9.
Private educational institutions – schools, colleges, universities, technical and vocational training institutes are coming up in our country in a big way. On the other hand, educational institutes run by the government are becoming relatively less important. What do you think would be the impact of this? Discuss.
Answer:
Private educational institutions levy very high fees, which only affluent people can afford. So quality education will be the right of only the rich. If educational institutions run by the government are not up to the mark, the weaker sections of the society are deprived of quality education. The end result of this disparity will be that only the rich will get a good education while the poor.
