A day of contrasts

Reporting from Mumbai...

Today, we visited the largest slum in Asia (arguably) and ended up in the swankiest bar in Bombay (apparently).

We started our day meeting with the Commissioner of the Municipal Corporate Government of Mumbai (MCGM). A career civil servant, he essentially acts as the mayor of the city. The titular mayor is the legislative head of the corporation and has some limited budgeting powers, but is otherwise ceremonial. The problems that the Mumbai government faces are vast and wide ranging. The city itself has a population twice that of London, but rests on a landmass one-third the size. Nearly five million residents commute from the northern part of the city to the downtown every day. Over eight million residents live in the various slums.

The commissioner was gracious with his time and discussed the primary concerns of the government: primarily water delivery, storm drainage, and transportation infrastructure. The storm drainage is a peculiar problem for Mumbai in that every high tide brings the sea level to such a height that the system can only handle 100mm per day. The problem only persists for a few hours over a few days each month, but an ill-timed rainfall can be disastrous. That, combined with the blockage of drains caused by increased development, is making the floods in the city worse and worse.

I got the sense that the system is overwhelmed, a feeling that’s confirmed just by walking around the middle income areas of the city, which are full of tenements and makeshift shacks. The commissioner joined us for lunch and then sent us up north to meet with his deputy in charge of the Slum Rehabilitation Authority. The largest of the slums, Dharavi, is home to over fifty thousand families, many of whom live in apartments of less than 100 square feet. There is approximately one toilet for every 1,500 residents. They have a plan to rehabilitate the area in cooperation with developers who will get free land in exchange for building low-cost housing.

We discussed the various details of the plan and its many shortcomings before heading into Dharavi itself. The buildings in the slums were terrible, as we’d expected, but there was a vibrant side as well. There are quite a few shops and enterprises. The buildings, while small and dilapidated, were fairly sturdy - made of concrete. The commission hopes that the project will bring the standard of living up and still maintain the commerce within the area.

After our visits, we returned to our hotel and headed out for another side of Mumbai, the Bollywood side. We had dinner in Churchgate and finished the evening at the Intercontinental on Marine Drive. It certainly is a city of contrasts.

Tomorrow, we’re heading out to the suburbs to visit a private ambulance company (there is no public emergency ambulance service) designed to meet the needs of low income people.

Group with the Commissioner, Dr. Phatak (former MC/MPA)

Discussing the Dharavi Revitalization Plan

Picture of Dharavi from the bus. I didn't take any pictures while we were walking around...