Mumbai: Consider the first tannery being set up in Dharavi in 1887, then referred to as Koliwada, that is 133 years ago, or 73 years after Independence, the sprawling 2.1 acre Dharavi slum is still an enigma when it comes to the vexed issue of its redevelopment. The complicated redevelopment of Dharavi has also come to symbolize what ails the Slum Redevelopment Authority (SRA) and why so many slum pockets of Mumbai are yet to be fully redeveloped.
Dharavi has been home to several home grown industries, besides being home to many. The industries and Dharavi’s very existence has been turned into by some into an industry for their own survival. For some it has become a lucrative Slum tourism industry and Poverty tourism industry. It is little wonder then that 2008 Hollywood movies like the Slumdog Millionaire not only romanticize but cement that stamp of Dharavi being Asia’s largest slum. A tag that no one wants to remove as it will shut their shop forever.
With land prices being at a premium, the entry of land sharks and those indulging in illegal activities was only inevitable. The politicization of the whole issue has only meant that redevelopment has become a political football match that is played out at every other election.
If the World Health Organisation (WHO) is lauding the efforts of the administration in controlling and containing the spread of Coronavirus in the urban sprawl then more than the administration, it is the people of Dharavi that deserve an pat on the back for keeping things under control in such a densely populated area. But do they just deserve a pat on the back? Don’t they deserve a better life style?
The Covid-19 pandemic seems to have presented itself just the kind of opportunity for the residents of Dharavi to unshackle themselves from the chains imposed on them by some vested interests. Success in controlling the spread of Covid-19, house to house tracking is in a way possible because of the population density where it is impossible to escape without one bumping into the other.
The success of the so-called Dharavi Model is largely due to the local residents realising it is their best chance at survival if they do not cooperate and unite in combating and halt the spread of Covid-19. The ugly side of it is also true that the survival of Dharavi guarantees survival of those whose survival depends on Dharavi and its inhabitants.
The over-politicisation of the issue has further complicated it. The several failed attempts at redeveloping the area shows how various vested interests for the sake of their own interests do not want the area to be redeveloped. Urban sprawl often leads to urban squalor and eventual urban death of a city. One hopes that the lessons will be learnt and earnest attempts will be made to turn Dharavi from Asia’s largest slum into Asia’s most sought after destination.
