Dharavi: Slum in Mumbai

Dharavi is a slum located in Mumbai, India. It is a squatter settlement which packs a million people crammed into one square mile in Dharavi. The new arrivals set up camp illegally amongst the city’s waste and open pipelines which is certainly not suitable habitation settlements. In the slum, people have to live with many problems such as open sewers and people having to defecate on the street. Children play amongst sewage waste and doctors deal with 4,000 cases a day of diphtheria and typhoid. Next to the open sewers are water pipes, which can crack and take in sewage. Dharavi slum is based around this water pipe built on an old rubbish tip.  Water is an issue in Dharavi and is rationed for use of only two hours a day. The area in which is used to wash clothes is connected to the same pipeline as the sewers. The people have not planned this settlement and have no legal rights to the land. There are also toxic wastes in the slum including hugely dangerous heavy metals.

Dharavi is made up of 12 different neighborhoods and there are no maps or road signs. Those problems exist because those people aren't living on their own property and because it is a poor piece of land, so the government is trying to kick them out so that they can start a new project, this causes many problems and issues to the people such as poverty and hunger. Slums in Mumbai are the result of rapid migration movement from rural areas. As Mumbai developed economically, job opportunities and educational opportunities became available. But yet when people migrated they found themselves in a harder position as limited housing and facilities were available to house a fast-growing population. Over 60% of the population live in slums and makeshift houses today.

In addition to this Pollution in Mumbai comes from several sources, all a result of over-urbanization. They include construction activity, for example, paved and unpaved dust is responsible for 38% of the pollution. Power plants are the second source of pollution - 21% of all air pollution comes from power plants while landfill burning causes 11%. Final vehicles, particularly heavy trucks contribute 3.42%. Domestically, 451 vehicles a registered in Mumbai every day. Finally, India’s Union budget for health is Rs 35,000 crore. It was cut by a couple of thousand crores because this nation does not have much money to spare for the poor. The government does not have the capacity to run the hospitals it builds and has no money to build many more. Government healthcare is accessed by 25% of the population and the chances of a government doctor diagnosing you correctly are less than 10%. America’s government spends more on healthcare alone than the entire GDP of India.