Read the passage carefully and answer the following questions:
Supply of water to rural settlements in developing countries is not adequate. People in villages, particularly in mountainous and arid areas have to walk long distances to fetch drinking water. Water borne diseases such as cholera and jaundice tend to be a common problem. The countries of South Asia face conditions of drought and flood very often. Crop cultivation sequences, in the absence of irrigation, also suffer.
The general absence of toilet and garbage disposal facilities cause health related problems.
The design and use of building materials of houses vary from one ecological region to another. The houses made up of mud, wood and thatch, remain susceptible to damage during heavy rains and floods, and require proper maintenance every year. Most house designs are typically deficient in proper ventilation. Besides, the design of a house includes the animal shed along with its fodder store within it. This is purposely done to keep the domestic animals and their food properly protected from wild animals.
Unmetalled roads and lack of modern communication network creates a unique problem. During rainy season, the settlements remain cut off and pose serious difficulties in providing emergency services. It is also difficult to provide adequate health and educational infrastructure for their large rural population. The problem is particularly serious where proper villagisation has not taken place and houses are scattered over a large area.
Unmetalled roads and lack of modern network does not pose serious difficulties in providing which of the following?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Proper Ventilation
The passage states: “Unmetalled roads and lack of modern communication network creates a unique problem. During rainy season, the settlements remain cut off and pose serious difficulties in providing emergency services. It is also difficult to provide adequate health and educational infrastructure for their large rural population.”
Option (1) Adequate health facilities — A difficulty caused by poor roads. Villages cut off by bad roads find it hard to get adequate health facilities.
Option (2) Good educational infrastructure — A difficulty caused by poor roads. Schools and other educational infrastructure are also difficult to provide in such villages.
Option (3) Proper Ventilation — Not a difficulty caused by poor roads. Poor ventilation is a problem of house design, not of roads. The passage links it with houses: “Most house designs are typically deficient in proper ventilation.”
Option (4) Emergency services — A difficulty caused by poor roads. When the settlements are cut off in the rainy season, emergency services cannot reach them in time.
Note: This passage is taken from the section ‘Problems of Rural Settlements’ in the chapter ‘Human Settlements’ of the pre-rationalised NCERT book (Fundamentals of Human Geography), with a few lines left out. The latest edition (2026-27) does not have this part.