• Investment World
• eWorld
• Catalyst
• Mentor
• Life
• Canvas
• Praxis
• Urban Pulse
• Brand Quest

Stocks

• Quotes
• SE Diary
• Scoreboard
• Open-End Mutual Fund

Cross Currency

• Rates
  
  

Shipping

• Ports
  
  

Archives

• Yesterday
• Datewise
• Resources

Group Sites

• The Hindu
• Business Line
• Sportstar
• Frontline
• The Hindu eBooks
• The Hindu Images

Sudhanshu Ranade

Chennai , July 20

IN the wake of the Kumbakonam school tragedy and the subsequent crackdown on the thatched-roof schools in Tamil Nadu, it is worthwhile to know how many houses/households are there in the country with thatched roofs/walls.

According to the 2001 Census, over 53 million houses, a little more than one in five, have roofs made of "grass, thatch, bamboo, wood etc." About 4.5 million of these are in urban India; the remaining 48.8 million are rural.

There are 42 million households (3.7 million urban and 38.3 million rural), once again a little more than one in five, providing a shelter of sorts to perhaps 200 million or more people. The remaining 11 million are used for non-residential purposes.

What is more, about 25 million of these (2.6 million urban; the rest rural) have their walls, too, made of easily combustible materials.

More Stories on : Economy

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
DVD player sales may top 5 m in next couple of years

Copyright © 2004, The Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu Business Line