Living in a Slum

India is often known for its slums and criticized for them as well. Dharavi is the biggest one and is placed in Mumbai/Bombay. How does the daily life in Dharavi look like?

Definition

A slum is a highly populated area which mostly goes like a stripe threw the city. The area is attractive for members of lower classes because of its cheap rents but these also cause bad hygiene and life conditions. A main problem is that many family members need to live in less space. The image of slums is rather negative connotated.

Dharavi

Most of the citizens in slums come there because of their less income. But not each of them wants to leave.

Dharavi is home for more than a million people. Especially the ones who come from the country side who want to start a new life with better work. Rents can be as low as 185 rupees (4$ / 2,20 Pounds) per month. Refering to the bad life coditions it has to be said that the electricity works for two days or not at all. Furthermore for toilet purposes the people need to go on the streets. Children do not have much place to play and it is also dangerous for them to be outside. The danger of being kidnapped or raped is very high.

Many families live together in a small room and one big issue is that the houses are unstable.

Due to the low earnings the children often have to leave school early which make careers impossible. There are families that prefer staying in the slums for being able to afford a better education for their children. Those families hope for financial safety from their children in the future and want to give them the possibility to leave Dharavi.

Moreover the hygiene conditions are very bad which causes diseases. High temperatures and dirty water support this.

For being able to leave slums you have to earn more money which is difficult because entrepreneurs repudiate employers with slum addresses.

Nevertheless there is a high number of people that would not leave Dharavi. Except the huts there are also better built houses. Furthermore the central location which offers connections to reach places easily is an important aspect.

All in all is Dharavi a home for many people and despite the bad life conditions many of them do not want to leave.

--Ant str gla (Diskussion) 13:34, 11. Jan. 2019 (CET