3 Dharavi cases raise fear of engulfing Asia's largest slum

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3 Dharavi cases raise fear of engulfing Asia's largest slum

Saturday, 04 April 2020 | TN RAGHUNATHA | Mumbai

3 Dharavi cases raise fear of engulfing Asia's largest slum

Amid reports of three persons testing positive for Covid-19 in Mumbai’s Dharavi slum, authorities are having sleepless night over a possible explosion of Covid-19 in Asia’s largest slum, which is also the most densely populated place in the world.

Of the three cases reported from Dharavi, one is a 56-year-old man with no history of international travel — who tested positive for coronavirus on Wednesday and passed away. The second one is a 52-year-old sanitation department worker of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). The third one is a 35-year-old doctor who practises near the slum.

The 56-year-old man who died on Wednesday night was the first to test positive from the sprawling shanty town in India’s financial hub.

The incidence of a couple of Covid-19 positive cases in Dharavi should be seen in the light of the fact that it is the most densely populated slum and the community spread of the pandemic in this slum may prove to be disastrous for Mumbai.

The Dharavi cases have raised fears that India may be in community transmission stage of the pandemic despite a countrywide lockdown since March 25.

Located between Western Railway’s Bandra-Matunga and Central Railway’s Sion-Matunga stations in north-central Mumbai, Dharavi is home to over anywhere from 60,000 to 70,000 families. The Mithi River slices through a portion of Dharavi into the Mahim Creek and then onto the Arabian Sea.

Spread over 240-hectare area, Dharavi has remained an ugly face and a dark underbelly of Mumbai — a largest slum which has been romanticised in Indian films over the years.

A mini-India of sorts where people belonging to different faiths live, Dharavi has 28 temples, 11 mosques, six churches, 50 banks, 60 Government schools, a mobile design museum, several slum tourism outfits, thriving criminal groups, and a tiny dilapidated fort.

Dharavi also has a small fort known as the Riwa Fort. Better known as Kala Qilla or Black Fort, it is currently in a dilapidated condition. It was built by the first Governor of Bombay, Gerald Aungier (1669-1677). It was part of the larger Bombay Castle, and marked the northern portion of British-held Bombay in the 17th century. The castle was also used as a watchtower, guarding the territory against the Portuguese-held (and later Maratha-held) Salsette Island.

At that time, the entire area was a large swamp and primarily inhabited by Koli fishermen who made a living from the waters. As the legend goes, the British built a dam on the Mithi river because of which there was no water to feed the swamp and it dried off. The fishermen and a community of potters moved in here.

In fact they could be called the first settlers of the region.

As Mumbai turned into a hub for textiles in the post Independence era, thousands of men from north India moved in as well and the slum as we know it started to take shape. Slowly since the 60s, migrants - particularly those from south India started moving in - making what Dharavi is today.

Dharavi has several business units -- right from textiles to pottery to fabrication to leather industry. Plastic recycling and garbage segregation too is done here. Mainly a hub of cottage industries, it has an estimated 5,000 business entities and 15,000 single-room factories. Goods produced here go to Middle East, South-East Asia, United States and Europe and several other places.

Dharavi shot to international fame after British filmmaker Danny Boyle made “Slumdog Millionaire” in 2008. Set against the backdrop of Dharavi, the film had many children actually picked up from this slum. The film bagged 8 Oscars.

Following the success of “Slumdog Millionaire”, some people from Dharavi initiated slum tours for international tourists who wanted to see what Asia’s largest slum all about.

“It would be nightmare if Covid-19 begins to penetrate these slums where eight to 10 people sometime live in a single shanty. God will only save people here then ,” said a healthcare expert.

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