Reality Tour of Dharavi

Dharavi, asia’s largest slum lies in the midst of India’s financial capital, Mumbai covering an area of 535 acres. In 19th century, it was inhabited by Koli fishermen. However, the fishing industry disappeared later. The idea of this tour was to show a number of the small scale industries existing in Dharavi, highlighting the enterprise and energy of the area. In the residential areas one sees the sense of community and good nature of the people, that despite the obvious problems that they face they can live in a dignified way. People from all over India and from all religions live together in Dharavi. There are 26 Hindu temples, 11 mosques, 6 churches, 2 government, 1 private hospital and public clinics, 4 NGO schools and lots of public school and 1 junior college. It is a mini city by itself, self contained in nature and accessible to all. We visited 13 compounds which recycled Plastic, where they sort the plastic in different colour and quality, after which they crush them in machines, wash them and put it on the top of the tiled roofs to dry them.They add pigment colours to them and sell them in the market later. They also recycle oil paint containers and vegetable oil containers. Dharavi has a large number of thriving small-scale industries that produce embroidered garments, export quality leather goods, pottery and plastic, bakeries, soap factories and papad making units. Migrants from Gujarat established the potters colony called Khumbharwad. These products are made in tiny manufacturing units spread across the slum and are sold in domestic as well as international markets. The annual turnover of business here is estimated to be more than $650m a year! This is one of the main reasons that the businessmen operating their units out of Dharavi do not want to sell the land to builders. There is not a single beggar in Dharavi in spite of being the largest slum, as the residents take great pride in working for their living.All the guides of the tour company spoke very good English and they gave detailed explanations of the places that we visited. This 2 hrs 30 min trip gave all our YFLO members the perfect opportunity to know and understand that Dharavi not only consists of residential but also commercial areas and spirit and energy levels of the communities that coexist there. The visit was much enjoyed and appreciated by the women. We were strictly not allowed to photograph the slums or any part of Dharavi to maintain respect of the people there, however, we managed to take these post our tour on request.