"Governments must ensure that their major cities receive the financial support they need in order to thrive, because it is primarily in cities that a nation's cultural traditions are preserved and generated."
In India, the city of Bangalore - now called Bengaluru - is an apt example to consider in this issue. It has received all the financial support required from the government which has till now conveniently ignored the development of other regions in the state. Within a couple of decades, this city has reached the pinnacle of being the called the Silicon valley of India and is on par in prominence with the metropolitan cities of the country. But it has also reached a point of saturation in terms of the resource consumption - be it land, water or other basic amenities. And the other regions are nowhere up to the standards to share the burden. This is a classic case of the consequences of concentrating the government aid on a particular city neglecting the progress of other villages, towns or smaller cities. Though the governments must ensure that their major cities receive the financial support, they must not fail to bring the other cities and towns to the same standards.
No doubt the cities are the technological and the financial hubs of the country and their progress is important for the overall growth of the nation as a whole. But one must also ensure the equity in this economic growth. The average income and the standard of living might go up. But, one must make sure that it is not the case of the rich becoming richer and the poor staying the same. Apart for the financial support, what the cities need is a proper enforcement of this aid.
In a country like India, close to three-fourths of the regions are still classified under the rural domain. Also the rural areas are the hubs of the diverse set of cultural values that this country is known for. In order to preserve this culture, it is important for these regions to flourish under the country's administration. Not many might know, but many languages in this country have literally gone out of existence because of the large-scale urbanization and because of that many traditional practices have failed to survive. Apart from boosting the economy, it is also important to preserve these traditional values, which this country is actually known for.
And also, one must not forget the discontent that might arise within the people if their progress is not kept in mind. People lose faith in the government and this leads to the terrifying consequence of a possible uprising. The Naxalite menace in India is once such revolution that as risen out from the dissatisfaction of the rural people. They are basically tribesmen whose needs have been ignored by the administration in favour of the progress of the major cities and this has forced them to take up the arms against their own government. Such an uprising can be avoided if proper steps are taken at a very early stage to tackle the inequity in resource distribution.
To summarize, cities do deserve an adequate attention from their respective governments in terms of monetary grants and the infrastructure required. But not at the cost of the well being of all the people under the governance. Ultimately, it must be the development of the entire nation that must be important and not of a distributed chunk of regions.
In India, the city of Bangalore - now called Bengaluru - is an apt example to consider in this issue. It has received all the financial support required from the government which has till now conveniently ignored the development of other regions in the state. Within a couple of decades, this city has reached the pinnacle of being the called the Silicon valley of India and is on par in prominence with the metropolitan cities of the country. But it has also reached a point of saturation in terms of the resource consumption - be it land, water or other basic amenities. And the other regions are nowhere up to the standards to share the burden. This is a classic case of the consequences of concentrating the government aid on a particular city neglecting the progress of other villages, towns or smaller cities. Though the governments must ensure that their major cities receive the financial support, they must not fail to bring the other cities and towns to the same standards.
No doubt the cities are the technological and the financial hubs of the country and their progress is important for the overall growth of the nation as a whole. But one must also ensure the equity in this economic growth. The average income and the standard of living might go up. But, one must make sure that it is not the case of the rich becoming richer and the poor staying the same. Apart for the financial support, what the cities need is a proper enforcement of this aid.
In a country like India, close to three-fourths of the regions are still classified under the rural domain. Also the rural areas are the hubs of the diverse set of cultural values that this country is known for. In order to preserve this culture, it is important for these regions to flourish under the country's administration. Not many might know, but many languages in this country have literally gone out of existence because of the large-scale urbanization and because of that many traditional practices have failed to survive. Apart from boosting the economy, it is also important to preserve these traditional values, which this country is actually known for.
And also, one must not forget the discontent that might arise within the people if their progress is not kept in mind. People lose faith in the government and this leads to the terrifying consequence of a possible uprising. The Naxalite menace in India is once such revolution that as risen out from the dissatisfaction of the rural people. They are basically tribesmen whose needs have been ignored by the administration in favour of the progress of the major cities and this has forced them to take up the arms against their own government. Such an uprising can be avoided if proper steps are taken at a very early stage to tackle the inequity in resource distribution.
To summarize, cities do deserve an adequate attention from their respective governments in terms of monetary grants and the infrastructure required. But not at the cost of the well being of all the people under the governance. Ultimately, it must be the development of the entire nation that must be important and not of a distributed chunk of regions.
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