Essay, Paragraph or Speech on “Merits and Demerits of City Life” Complete English Essay, Speech for Class 10, Class 12 and Graduation and other classes.

Merits and Demerits of City Life

Though India is mainly a land of villages, there are many cities as well in the country. Some of the cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata are very big in size. They have a population of several millions. Life in those cities is quite different from the life in a village. There are good arrangements for education in big cities. Big colleges and universities are found there. Even a person of ordinary means can give his sons and daughters the highest education according to their mental capacity. Also, there are a large number of schools both for boys and girls in big cities. There are well-equipped libraries and reading rooms for public use. Such arrangements do not exist in small towns and villages.

Besides this, cities also provide many opportunities for amusement and recreation. In every city there are a number of cinema houses and theatres where one can enjoy the best of pictures and dramatic performances. Cities also provide ample medical facilities. In every city there are good hospitals where the poor are provided free treatment and medicine. Many qualified doctors are also there to serve the sick and the suffering. Lack of such medical facilities is a drawback of the villages.

Also, in cities there are a number of restaurants and hotels where one can get food, beverages, etc. of the finest quality. There are also many parks and gardens where one can enjoy natural beauty at its best. The markets of the cities, especially when brilliantly lighted at night are better than many exhibitions and fairs.

The most important advantage of cities is the availability of avenues of employment. There are centres for trade and commerce. There are big offices as well as large number of factories and mills. Persons with any kind of qualification can easily find jobs to suit them. No such opportunities exist in villages where people mostly depend on agriculture.

City people are more cultured and refined. In cities one finds opportunities to mix with people from all parts of the country as well as from countries. One meets people with different ideas, different temperaments and different ways of living and thinking. In this way, our outlook is broadened and our views enlarged.

Cities have many disadvantages too. The remark of the English poet Cowper “God made the country and man-made the town’ is very true. In cities we cannot enjoy the beauties of nature as we can do in villages.

City life is artificial and man is off from nature. He cannot appreciate the charms of birds and flowers or the beauty of the dawn and the sunset as he can in villages. City life is extremely unhealthy. Air pollution, water pollution and noise pollution have converted the city life into hell. The smoke coming out of the factories makes the atmosphere very dirty. People here get no opportunity to breathe free and pure air or to enjoy clear sunshine. Besides, food items are adulterated. We cannot get pure milk and ghee. The food sold in the market is unwholesome and unfit for consumption. The villages suffer from no such drawbacks.

Air pollution in cities occurs due to the emissions of gases from vehicles, factories and households. Vehicles pollute the air to the maximum extent. The polluted air comprises CO, CO2 NO2, SO2, oxides of lead and suspended particulate matter. The inhalation of these gases leads to nausea vomiting, headache, lung cancer and respiratory problems. In Delhi alone there are lakhs of vehicles which spew the deadly poison for the Delights to inhale. The thermal plants and fertilizer plants near cities also contribute to the pollution

One has to face many difficulties in a big city. Life is very costly. People have to live with pomp and show and a simple life like that of a village is impossible in the city. Cities are overcrowded and people get very little accommodation. New-comers to cities have to put up with a great deal of hardship as rates are very high.

Also, people in a city do not have much sympathy for others. Even next-door neighbours do not know each other. There is no fellow-feeling. That sympathy and close interdependence which are the hallmark of a violate He are entirely lacking in the city life. Such is the life in a big city. Therefore, many people do not like to live there. Others prefer it due to various facilities that cities provide. It is all a matter of taste.