Mumbai (formerly Bombay); is widely known as the slum capital of the Asia. These slums have existed in Mumbai since the time of the forts. Dating back to the early 1900s, slums were predominantly found around the mills

‘SLUMBAY’

Mumbai (formerly Bombay); is widely known as the slum capital of the Asia. These slums have existed in Mumbai since the time of the forts. Dating back to the early 1900’s, slums were predominantly found around the mills, nearing the Western part of the island, known as Byculla. They have never undergone infrastructure, planning or implementation of water facilities, sewage or drainage. Health and provisions to these areas have been ignored by the government officials and policy makers. Instead of deteriorating and fading, these slums have spread over a vast area, and have now become part of Mumbai’s landscape.

The problem of overcrowding brought about a rise in the growth of slums during the 18th century. The large scale industrialization and rapid increase in the number of mills attracted people from the country, especially from rural areas, into the city, which was ill prepared and did not have the resources to feed a mounding population.

The birth of slums was a response to the increasing population. The poor capacity of housing facilities in the city is a major drawback. People are drawn to the city due to the major disputes between the urban and rural income rates. There are other reasons to the fast growing formation of slums in the city of Mumbai. As the population grew, it took over land that was used for traditional purposes. Those driven out of their villages resorted to living places even worse than before. However, some of the villages have become slums over the years, such as ...

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Dharavi, the largest slum in Asia, is located right in the middle of India’s financial capital, Mumbai. Almost a million people live here, some who have been there for years, or some who are first and second generation. While slum pockets cover a mere 6% of the land in Mumbai, they hold 60% of the city’s population. It bears no similarity to the fishing village it was. It is a large section of land, narrow dirty lanes, overcrowded with people, open sewers, smothered with filth, and cramped huts. People are reeking in poverty, and struggling to survive in the unhygienic conditions. Dharavi provides low rental rates, affordable for the poor, in comparison to the city of Mumbai, where housing is exorbitant. One of main factors that differentiate Dharavi is its thriving productivity. It has a number of small scale industries, which produce embroidered garments, crackers, quality leather goods, pottery, plastic and other such materials. These may have grown from small domestic productions to large ventures. Although the working and living conditions are perilous, a lot of the people have flourished.

These slum demolitions have a devastating impact on the inhabitants. Their insubstantial huts are their only belongings, but these slum dwellers are the backbone of India’s society and economy. Their work as train operators, factory workers and other low paid jobs keep Mumbai’s economy functioning and operational.

The government is trying to create adequate living conditions for the slum dwellers. Redeveloping and improving the infrastructure involve the movement of people, which can cause a major problem. There had been a delay of a costly redesign, due to the local fishermen who protested that the road impeded their boats. The governments plan is to replace the huts by apartment blocks. The families would be given a certain amount of land, and the rest was to be distributed among the builders etc. Although the slum dwellers were to be given a choice, the government did not hesitate, in desperation to clear up the situation. Being a commercialized slum, re developing it would cause much of its industry to be lost. So far, the slum policy has been launched, and slum dwellers have been resettled, with aims of redeveloping the slum area. All those developers... they didn't make Dharavi. We did. We are not leaving”, said a resident from Dharavi. The government decided to offer housing to the dwellers living in Dharavi for over a certain amount of years, as compensation for the loss of their industries and huts.

The slums in Mumbai are an immense disadvantage although they do help boost the economy. The slums are a perfect example to describe what its like to live without adequate water supplies and sanitation in one of the most popular cities, Mumbai. Almost half the population lives in slums or dilapidated buildings, in the unhygienic conditions. Basic sanitation and water are still to reach millions of deprived people. The Mumbai Municipal Corporation has taken up the task to make a difference, for the benefit of the slum dwellers, the inhabitants and the city itself. With the help of the residents of Mumbai, the cooperation from the slum inhabitants, and extensive research and extensive effort and exertion from the government, there is bound to be a difference, some day or the other.

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20th of Apr 2012

Quality of writing

For an A level essay, the standard of geographical terminology is poor. Terms such as NIC, development, economically active, birth rate etc were not mentioned as these are GCSE standard words, so A level terms were definitely hard to find. Spelling, punctuation and grammar are excellent.

Level of analysis

The candidate could have gone further by comparing Dharavi with the more developed parts of Mumbai, to highlight the stark comparison of the Mumbai's ever expanding development gap. It could have also been cross compared with other shanty towns such as favelas in Sao Paulo or townships in South Africa, as there is a development continuum between these locations. Only one statistic was given in the whole essay. Statistics such as '85% of Dharavi's population are economically active' are vital in order to emphasise the positive aspect of the slum. However, a clear contrast between positives and negatives was given, which was adequate. The inclusion of why Dharavi's population is increase (due to the influx of economic migrants) is also very good. The regeneration of slum areas but authorities could have been compared to the effect of the uprising of council estates in Britain and their social problems. Overall the analysis was also average, as there was a lot of information which should have been included.

Response to question

There is no established title to respond to, so I assume the response should include detailed case study of Mumbai's slums; mentioning their causes, effects, short and long term positive and negative aspects. The response overall is short, which conveys that the candidate may be lacking in knowledge about the subject. However, the response is slightly better than this assumption because it gets straight to the point in most instances. The response in the first paragraph is good as it highlights some pros and cons of the slums, which are discussed in more detail later on. The essential case study of Dharavi is included with appropriate detail, which conveys some depth of research by the candidate. The inclusion of government plans for Dharavi is excellent. Overall the response is average, which is dragged by the conclusion. It not summaries and acknowledge prior information well, as it includes new information and also tails off on a weak point 'some day or another', could have been phrased better such as 'as India's development transition continues'.

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