The roof is made of striped tin sheets—unplastered walls. Narrow streets, and people are going out bumping into each other in those streets. This is the story of Dharavi. The same Dharavi, also known as the ‘Heart’ of Mumbai and ‘Chhota India’. This township is situated among the high-rise buildings of Mumbai. If you are in Mumbai and want a roof over your head at a low cost, Dharavi is the best destination. Lakhs of daily wage labourers and small business people live here. Neither the standard of education nor cleanliness is good here.
Now, this Dharavi is going to be rejuvenated. Adani Infra will do its work. Adani Infra had bid Rs 5,069 crore. DLF company had bid Rs 2,025 crore. At the same time, the third company Naman Group was disqualified. The plan for the redevelopment of Dharavi has been going on since 2004, but now its tender has been approved.
Dharavi… The Heart Of Mumbai
Dharavi is also called the heart of Mumbai. This settlement, established during the British period, is today the largest settlement in Asia and the third-largest settlement in the world.
How many people live in Dharavi? It’s not an exact figure. But it is estimated that 6 to 10 lakh people live here. There are 58 thousand of families and about 12 thousand commercial complexes in Dharavi.
Dharavi was settled by the British in 1882. The purpose of setting it up was that labourers could be given an affordable place. Gradually people started settling here, and slums were formed. The land in Dharavi is government-owned, but people have built slums at their own expense.
There are so many slums here that the land is not visible from a distance. Spread over 550 acres, Dharavi has more than 2 lakh people living within a radius of one kilometre. From this, it can be estimated how densely populated it is.
In Dharavi, 8 to 10 people live together in a small slum of 100 square feet. Some slums have also been built in which there are factories as well as houses. About 80 per cent of people use public toilets.
Dharavi Is A Colony Of ‘Stubborn’ People
Dharavi is identified with slums. This is also true. But in reality, it is a colony of stubborn people. Daily wage labourers and those who do their business live in the narrow streets here. Mahim and Sion are railway stations built on either side of Dharavi. Every day, lakhs of people come and go to Dharavi from here. There is so much crowd here that it takes courage and courage to enter.
Like Mumbai, Dharavi is also a colony of people running after work. The difference is that the people living in Mumbai city live in flats and nice houses, and those living in Dharavi live in cramped, small, dirty slums. But this is a colony of stubborn people who never stop.
The Settlement Of ‘Slumdog’…
The movie ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ came in 2008. The shooting of this film was done in Dharavi only. It was shown in the movie how a boy living in this slum becomes a millionaire.
This colony belongs to such a ‘slumdog’. An entrepreneur will be found in every fourth house here. According to an estimate, there are more than 22 thousand small business people here.
Leather goods, jewellery and decorative pottery are made in the township. Things made in this township are then sold in the country and abroad.
Reports suggest more than 5,000 registered business people are in these slums. At the same time, more than 15 thousand factories are built in each room. The recycling industry employs more than 2.5 lakh people, including women and children.
It is believed that every inch of land in Dharavi is used for some productive work. According to an estimate, there is a business of $ 1 billion, i.e. about 80 billion rupees annually in Dharavi.
The Epidemic Came… But Dharavi Remained
There is so much crowd in Dharavi that dirt often remains here. This is the reason why diseases also spread very fast here.
In 1896, when the plague spread across the world, it also affected Dharavi because many people lived here even then. Even after the epidemic, people in Dharavi had to face different diseases for the next 25 years.
In 1986, when cholera spread, its effect was the most on Dharavi. It is believed that at that time, most of the people who were admitted to the hospitals of Mumbai were from Dharavi only.
In April 2020, the first case of Corona came to light in Dharavi. After that, the corona bomb exploded here. The number of patients was increasing day by day. The biggest problem was how to follow social distancing in the narrow streets. But Dharavi fought and won the battle with Corona.
Now Dharavi Will Change Completely
In 1999, when there was a coalition government of BJP and Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, it was proposed to redevelop Dharavi for the first time. After this, in 2003-04, the Maharashtra government developed a redevelopment plan for Dharavi.
The government wants Dharavi not to be counted among the most prominent slums. Instead, it should be recognized as the best slum. Houses should be built here instead of huts and commercial complexes too.
The Dharavi redevelopment project is worth Rs 20,000 crore and is expected to be completed in 17 years. At the same time, there is a target to settle the people living here in pucca houses in 7 years. More than 1 crore square feet of land will come in this entire project.
Under this project, those living in Dharavi before January 1, 2000, will be given a pucca house free of cost. Those who came and settled here between 2000 and 2011 will have to pay this price.
