By -Rounak Mudbhatkal

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Dharavi is touted as Asias Largest Slum. Located on what is supposed to be Mumbais Gold mine of Real Estate, spread over 550 acres smack in the heart of Mumbai. Until the late 19th century, this area of Mumbai was mangrove swamp inhabited by Koli fishermen. The Kumbhars came from Gujarat to establish a potters' colony. Tamils arrived from the south and opened tanneries. Thousands traveled from Uttar Pradesh to work in the booming textile industry.

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Almost none of the people who live in Dharavi own the land, but a great many own their homes and businesses, many houses have electricity which they pay for, and some have running water. 80%+ residents of Dharavi, work in Dharavi itself. Majority of residents of Dharavi are Dalits. Dharavi has a population of between 600,000 and over 1 million people. Rent here is as low as Rs 185/month.

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As many as 18,000 people crowd into a single acre. 60% of the families have lived here since 60 years. Products made in Dharavi are sourced and sold globally. Dharavi is a major tourism and cine location in Mumbai and a big chunk of junior film artists come from Dharavi. Industry in Dharavi is Estimated Rs 5 Crore a day or Rs 2000 crore per annum. Dharavi has been depicted in a number of Hindi films produced by the Mumbai film industry. Ex: Sarkar, Traffic Signal, Slumdog Millionaire, Bombay.

Today's Dharavi bears no resemblance to the fishing village it once was. A city within a city, it is one unending stretch of narrow dirty lanes, open sewers and cramped huts. Dharavi has 28 temples, 11 mosques and 24 madrassas, 6 churches. 85 percent of households own a television set, 75 percent own a pressure cooker and a mixer, 56 percent own a gas stove, and 21 percent have telephones. They are some of Mumbai's poorest residents. They also happen to be sitting on some of the world's most valuable real estate

Dharavi houses about 1 million people today. It also accomodates many small scale industries including the following Recycling. Pottery. Tanneries. Surgical Threads. Buffalo Hides. Shoe Box Manufacturing. Textiles.

Today, The total turnover of Dharavi is estimated to be between US $1 Billion per year. Makes a whopping Rs 11 crore per hectare per annum. 500 small scale Garments units, and about 100 doing embroidery and zardozi work. 25-30 big and 5000 small jobwork leather goods manufacturing units. 150 leather shops.

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About 100 Printing presses. 111 restaurants. 85 Export Oriented Units (including WHO approved surgical sutures). 3 to 4 Soap and detergent factories. 152 Food units chikki (27), papads, chana dal, khari biscuit etc. 25 Bakeries.

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Child labour. There are 145 (Hazardous chemical drums) recycling units. Adulteration and copying (cold drinks to toothpaste). 722 Scrap and Recycling (plastics, chemicals etc.) of which only 359 are licensed. Dharavis plastic recycling industry is Indias largest. It employs over 5000 people. There are 121 sheds in 13thcompound alone. Chor Bazaar : Mumbais biggest market for any kind of Pirated goods.

The people of Dharavi have laboured hard, rankled hard, to strike it rich. Popular stereotyping has reinforced the image of Dharavi as a place of dirt and filth, breeding criminal activities. But Dharavi represents Mumbai's real cosmopolitanism, a place where people from different regions of India have forged new identities and lives through sheer grit and determination. If the people of Dharavi have shown initiative and enterprise, it is not because the city helped them to realize their dreams, rather this was despite the way the city has treated them.

When Mumbai downtown office workers break for a snack, they are likely to eat idlis or sweets made here for consumption on the pavement outside the Bombay Stock Exchange. Leather goods, traditional pottery items, clothes - a vast range of goods are made in Dharavi for sale in India and abroad. And though the stigma of living here still attaches to them, many young residents are studying computer science and business administration and opening businesses here and elsewhere.

Far from being an economic refugee camp, as it is so often portrayed, Dharavi is a vibrant, energetic business and manufacturing district for many of its residents.

Most of the waste dumped in the streets of Mumbai are collected and dumped here in Dharavi. There are Leather Production units that produce export quality leather which is made avialable globally. It is the centre for a WHO approved venture, i.e. the making of surgical tubes from something as simple as a goats intestine. It also houses the Khumbarwada potters, known for their excellent quality of pots and their artistic creativity.

A plan to redevelop Dharavi has been setup by American Architect Mr Mukesh Mehta. According to the plan, Dharavi will be divided into 5 sectors, and each sector will be awarded to a different developer to redevelop. 19 developers are currently shortlisted by the Indian government. According to the plan, developers are expected to rehabilitate 57000 families and build infrastructure, roads, water supply, sewage and storm water drains.

The project will create 40 million sq ft of commercial space and 30 million sq ft of residential development in 7 years. All slums in Dharavi will be removed, developers will be given full property rights. MMRDA will have to clean the Mahim Creek, which is used by the residents to urinate and defecate. All the Industries will be forced to relocate, all except the khumbhar potters, who are willing to relocate only within Dharavi.

The redevelopment would mean, a cleaner hygienic Dharavi minus the slums, encroachments and small scale units. People of Dharavi would live a better life in terms of tangible comforts like houses etc.. Paves way for 550 acres of prime real estate in the most pivotal part of Mumbai. This plan dedicates plots to non polluting industries. Dharavi always carried the slum tag, and now will be ready to become a part of the Skyline of Mumbai.

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Relocating 57000 unwilling to relocate families is a big thing. The Idea of redevelopment was least thought of 10 years back. As industries are segregated, the social activities which are interrelated between industries are endangered. People in Dharavi although uncomfortable, are happy, happiness is omnipresent in Dharavi. Redevelopment is just an excuse given to make more money out of the Real Estate gold mine that underlies Dharavi.

The surgical threads occupation was carried out in a small room about 350 sq. ft. in area. The main occupation of the workers was to clean the goat intestine; treat it with salt water and then dry it and send it to Johnson & Johnson for further processing and finally manufacturing Surgical Threads. This is approved by the World Health Organization (WHO).

 

Have a permanent structure. About 30 to 40 day laborers earning about 70 to 100 rupees/day. Owner provides them with the Goat Guts from the slaughterhouse in Deonar. Cleaned and salted guts go to the J&J Factory next door. Work downstairs, live upstairs.

This industry is located in proximity to the surgical threads one. The main job here is to clean buffalo hides. These hides are imported to countries abroad in many forms for further processing. The wallets, bags and other leather goods, shockingly come from one of these small scale Industries.

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Have a permanent structure that is about 50 x 15 rented. 6-7 people work downstairs cleaning hide, live upstairs migrant workers. Get hides from Deonar Slaughterhouse. Cleaned hides are take to cold storage. Are willing to relocate if given security of location.

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The Pottery Industry is one of the oldest and most famous Industry in Dharavi. It is located in Khumbarwada nagar of Dharavi. First settlers were the Khumbars from Saurashtra from where the name of the place is derived. Pottery Businesses are Ancestral. The Pots made here are well known worldwide for their Excellent quality and artwork.

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These are Family businesses that have been established almost a century ago. They are pollution free, and employ only known people to handle the businesses. Laborers are unpaid, but given shelter and food and given small stipend on occasion. They come from neighboring villages and are not allowed to bring family there. Are willing to relocate if given security of location.

The tanneries in Dharavi total have turnover of nearly Rs. 50 crores. Leather is exported internationally. Raw hide comes from Madras. Since most of the Deonar slaughter houses hide goes to the Hide cleaning Industry mentioned earlier, these hides need to be imported from Madras. It is one of the most flourishing and profitable Industry within Dharavi, forms a major part of Dharavis Economic Growth.

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Property size 80 by about 45. Downstairs painting, upstairs storage. Only 6 employees mostly automated work pays them 2000 4000 / month. Sells under 3 companies generating Rs. 3-4 crores turnover per year (Vinayak Leathercrafts, Anita Leatherworks, and AV Enterprise). Willing to relocate only within Dharavi.

The shoe boxes produced here are typically exported to many places both national and international. About Rs. 1 crore turnover and is also providing employment opportunities to many. Laborers who are a part of this teeming industry are residents of Dharavi itself. This Industry is relatively new as compared to the others here. Was Established in 1964.

Seasonal business from September through about March. Have 3500 sq ft of land which is rented. Uses modern machines to make these shoe boxes. It is one of the organized informal industries within Dharavi. Are willing to relocate if need be.

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This Industry is the driving force of Dharavis current day survival against Political factors. Dharavi is the center of Mumbais garbage disposal and the many recycling units here take care of the neverending rivers of garbage that arrive here. This is Dharavis biggest strength, the sole reason why Dharavi is able to ward off real estate giants from acquiring the potential gold mine there. Turns around the discarded waste of Mumbai's 19 million citizens, estimated by economists, the output of the slum is as impressive as it seems improbable: 700m a year.

Hundreds of barefoot street children, human recycling machines, scurry back and forward, hauling bundles of waste - plastic, cardboard or glass - retrieved from Mumbai's vast municipal dumps. From every alley comes the sounds of hammering, drilling and soldering. In every shack, dark figures sit waist-deep in piles of car batteries, computer parts, fluorescent lights, ballpoint pens, plastic bags, paper and cardboard boxes and wire hangers, sorting each item for recycling. Workshops reveal everything from aluminum smelters recycling drink cans to perspiring bare-chested men stirring huge vats of waste soap retrieved from rubbish tips and local hotels.

What we saw just now is just a taster of the innumerable small scale units that reside in Dharavi. There are 15000 small production units inside Dharavi which is 550 Acres in size, and includes the 600000 odd residents, their roads, toilets & everything. Isn't it surprising how we have seen the incredible management of limited space and resource ?. Another interesting revelation is that , Dharavi often called a slum has a turnover of a whopping $1bn in 2009.

Everything good has a bad side attached to it, as we all know, its the Balance of the universe, more famously known as Yin-Yang. Coming to Dharavi, What we have seen so far is the productivity side of Dharavi. The people who live here lack basic amenities like drinking water and good sanitation. People here struggle to make a living, One would be surprised to know as to how less the wants of these people are, let alone catering to their needs.

December 1992, sparked off an Internal riot among the Hindus and Muslims of Dharavi regarding the Babri Masjid case. Crime rates had been at a high initially, before the many religious communities understood that sense of oneness and started living in harmony. Flesh trades, Child Labour, Piracy among many other illegal activities too flourish here, although unethical , are part of Dharavis economy. Almost impossible to bring about any kind of regulations to such a dense population in a comparitively small part of Mumbai.

The Infrastructure is pitiful with open drains forming a flourishing breeding ground for mosquitoes and many other insects. Chances of an Epidemic spread is very high and the water pollution is a lot. Basic Hygiene is non existent due to the lack of educational facilities, lack of space, lack of toilets and lack of a good sewage system.

Dharavi has always been a permanent eyesore to foreign travelers flying to India. The Financial Express. Dharavi is a black hole something we should be ashamed of. as quoted by Mr. Mukesh Mehta, BBC News, 21 March 2007. Asias largest sprawl of Filth the Dharavi slum as quoted by Mr Aditya Ghosh, Hindustan Times, 07 February 2008

There is one thing that all of us have to understand from this small shocking revelation of what we have called a slum so far. The people in Dharavi , despite their problems, despite their pathetic living conditions, air an atmosphere of happiness. The people here have learned to adjust from what little they have and what little they get. Optimization has a new Epitome in the name of

Dharavi