In today’s scenario environment has become the much talked about topic to be discussed in public place, organizing debates and seminars but one should understand that we have to live “In It” and  “With It”. We as human beings cannot separate ourselves from environment because we are part of it. Nature resides in human’s soul, body and mind. It’s a intertwined and close relationship. Human beings cannot afford divorce from nature. The sooner we realize it, the better it would be for all of us.

1. The first objective of this  research paper is to understand ecology, environment and sub urban areas.

2. To understand the role of environment on the health of people.

3. To understand the relation of environment and COVID-19.

Case Study 1

LP who is 28 year old and is unmarried has in his family one younger sister (26 years), his mother (56 years) and his father (61 years). LP is working as clerk in a government bank. The bank is located at the Suburban area of Shahganj Road. L P lives in a rented apartment as his home is in village in sirkoni block. The schooling of LP is from government school in the village. However for his competitive exam preparation, he went to Varanasi. Narratinghis experience about village life, he says “the life over there is full of freshness. We get fresh air, water and environment. Not only this but we also get all our fruits and vegetables, free of adulteration.” LP has his own agricultural land on which wheat, rice, pulses etc are cultivated. Not only this, LP is also having small kitchen garden at the backyard of his house on which all seasonal vegetables are grown. Speaking further LP says “My mother

takes deep interest in kitchen gardening. Its her favorite hobby. She is completely in love with plants. It's due to her interest and effort that we get all kind of vegetables and fruits to eat which is free of pesticides and harmful chemicals.” LP stayed in Varanasi for almost 2 years till he got selected in bank clerk exam.

According to LP “Varanasi although is a big city and is known worldwide for its religious and spiritual value but at the same time, the city is high in pollution. New roads are being constructed, old ones are getting widened due to which air is full of dust particles, lead, carbon dioxide and other heavy metals and harmful chemicals. All this is leading to health related problems among the people when I was in Varanasi, I had persistent cough and nose blockage problem. When I consulted a doctor, he advise me to be wear mask before stepping out and also to avoid construction site and heavy polluted area.

However the problem gets diminished, when I stay at my village currently I am staying at a place which is at the ending corner of the city. Here the air is not that much clean as in the village but not as polluted as in the city. My health related problem is also solved at this place.”

Case Study 2

HK is of 24 years and is living in hostel in Varanasi preparing for competitive exams. Her family lives in the sub urban area of Jaunpur district. She has in her family her mother (52 years),who is home maker. Her father (58 years) runs an intermediate School.

HK is the only child of her parents. The house of HK is a well furnished “Pucca house” with a big kitchen garden at the back of the house. The school is nearly 20 meter from the house. Trees of Palas, Mahua, sagwan is planted in and around the school in a considerable quantity according to HK,” The place where I live in Varanasi is highly polluted by noise and air. The air that we breathe is not good for our health. I got many skin related allergies and redness in my eyes.  Whenever I used to return from my coaching to the hostel being independent is one of my biggest aim in life and that why I am living in this hostel from one year and 2 months.”  When asked about what differences does she feels related to health environment while living in hostel in Varanasi and in her own home in sub urban area of Jaunpur district, she says” the differences are many to the water that we use for drinking and cooking purpose is a pure underground water of hand pump since childhood. I consumed the unfiltered underground water and did not suffered any kind of health issue. The water is pure with some amount of sweetness. When I came to hostel,  the hostel owner said there is no need to install water filter but  the water was a bit smelly according to me. After two months and so,  I suffered from Severe jaundice.  When I recovered after three months, my parents able to install a water filter after a long debate with hostel owner. Big cities are good for jobs, establishing business,  making money,  living a luxurious life but when it came to living a pure, healthy and pollution free life then villages, sub urban  area are the best place. During Covid-19 also we have seen that many people shifted from Metropolitan cities to their villages in order to save their life from infection and to leave a healthy polution free life.”

Case Study 3

PS 23 year old is pursuing his M.A. in Economics from the University of Allahabad. He is from a small village Nawada from Kerakat. He has in his family his father (56 years) who is a teacher in Government Middle School. His mother (49 years) is a home maker. His elder brother who is pursuing PhD from The University of Allahabad in English. His younger sister (16 year) and she is an intermediate student.

According to PS,” I always dreamt of studying in Central University and my dream come true when I got admission in Allahabad University in 2019. I am from a small villages but my dream are always big.

My passion is to be an IAS officer that's why I took admission in Allahabad University so that University classes and coaching can go side by side”. PS lives in University hostel while his elder brother lives in a rented room.  Talking about the city PS says, “the city is absolutely good and I personally love this city. The city is culturally, religiously and academically rich. Many administrator officers are from the city only.  The city is worldwide known for its religious importance, melas and specially Kumbh Mela. Sitting at the side of Sangam, one gets the peace of mind your body and mind relaxes and one feels more calm, refreshed and satiated. Whenever I feel low depressed, I sit either at the sour of Ganga River or at Sangam. The city is now getting transform into Smart City and is developing at speedy rate.” On being asked about increasing level of pollution in the city and its impact on health

 PS says “although the city is developing and heading towards modernization and its getting more commercial investment which is a good indicator because ultimately the common people will be benefited. The most there will be better opportunity for jobs, education, better Civic amenities like Road transportation sewage etc but what I think is that ecological and environmental factors should also be taken into account.”

According to him “Not only the water of Holy river is getting polluted but also the condition of Shores is getting worse day by day.  Many Waste product are dumped not only in the Holy river but also kept at the Shores of the river causing  damage of flora and fauna of the concerned place. This increased level of pollution is also affecting the health of all irrespective of their age and financially condition. Me and my elder brother where grown up in villages environment where pollution level is controlled and their for health condition is also better.  We get clean air and water in village. The food that we eat is also chemical free. All this causes a positive impact on our health. I remember that during our school days, me and my elder brother was best cricket player, physically active and also mentally. But when we came to Prayagraj and due to more focus on our studies. My elder brother after ten and half months suffered from headache, nausea, sore in throat and congestation in chest. He was not able to focus on your studies due to continuous health issue. We visited many doctors and my brother got relief also but for short time. Surprisingly during covid-19, when we spend the entire lockdown period in our village, my elder brother recovered soon without any medicine. I was surprised but then we understood that pollution free environment is a complete remedy to all health rated problems.”

Case Study 4

JP is 40 years old and he runs a small street food shop in Mumbai. He is a resident of a sub urban area of Purai in Kerakat tehsil. He has in his family his father(80 years),his mother (72 years) and his wife (35 years) and two children. Before COVID-19 outbreak JP’s street food shop was running profitably. JP’s mother and father lives in suburban area of purai while his wife and children used to live in Mumbai before COVID-19.According to JP “I was living in Mumbai for nearly twenty years. When I was 20 years of age I was married and was not having any source of income to run my family. My father retired from govt. job. He was a postman in postal department and family was completely dependent on his pension. Ultimately I decided to move to city in search for better employment. My one very close friend suggested me to come to Mumbai and make money because he was also doing the same. I was making good money from my street food shop specially vada pav, pav, chowmein, momos and other such food items.”

JP is having two children and both were studying in Mumbai earlier. Elder son is 16 years old and is studying in intermediate while his daughter (14 years) is in high school. According to JP “My both children are good in studies. When I was in Mumbai they both were studying in a private school as I was able to afford  their fees and other expenditures. But soon after breakdown of COVID-19 and announcement of lockdown by government my shop was closed. I was not able to survive as after two months my saving was almost finished and we decided to shift in Purai in Uttar Pradesh, my hometown. Due to pure environment in village we were able to survive in COVID-19.

This research paper is based on qualitative research methods. The research area selected for this paper is  Haripur village in Jaunpur district of Uttar Pradesh. This paper has four case studies written after deep talks with respondents. The paper is empirical in study and it adopts descriptive research design. The research tools used in this paper are interview schedule, recorder to record views of respondents and diary for writing views of respondents. Participation observation method is used in this research paper. Three males and one females were interviewed for this paper.

The research paper clearly indicate that environment plays crucial role in the physical as well as mental well being of the people. Young generation is more prone to ill effect of environmental problems,  especially those who had moved from rural areas where they get fresh air, water and food to urban areas. Young people move to city for better education and jobs opportunities but after sometime they found themself struggling with health issues. If this problem persist for a longer duration then cities will be considered not only a place for personal and professional opportunities and better growth but also a “Danger zone” for physical and mental well being of common.

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