Pipe dreams for Dharavi
Written By
Joanna Lobo & Vishakha Avachat
| Updated:
There are a number of things we take for granted: the electricity, telecom infrastructure, water. In Dharavi water scarcity has been the rule rather than the exception.
There are a number of things we take for granted in our everyday lives: The electricity that allows our ACs to run on those balmy Mumbai nights; the telecom infrastructure that allows us to hear the voices of our loved ones whenever the whim to do so grabs us; the water that flows through our homes bringing with it hygiene and sustenance.
Now one of them is in danger of disappearing. As Mumbai’s population grows, the demand on the city’s existing infrastructure increases exponentially, and our water supply is finding it difficult to keep up. Most Mumbaikars should be thankful that they do not have to walk five kilometres every morning, just to fill one bucket of water, but for some this is a daily ordeal, and one that comes with its very own set of life-threatening problems.
In Dharavi, Asia’s largest slum, water scarcity has been the rule rather than the exception that tests it. Fifty-year-old, Laxmi Shinde's daily routine revolves around water. She wakes up every morning at 6am. She then waits half-an-hour at a common tap, shared by six families.
But if some readers feel that half-an-hour isn't that long, then think again. For the problem with Dharavi's water supply goes far deeper, and the outcome is far more grave.
Walking through the labyrinth slum, water is on residents’ minds, and the BMC officials seem impotent to bring about change.
Geeta Singh came to Dharavi after her marriage, 25 years ago. "We along with five other families got together and spent around a year trying to get a water meter, for which we shelled out Rs 3,500 per family," she says.
But getting a metre doesn't guarantee a regular supply of water. Haseena Shaikh, 39, a leader at a local Mahila Samiti, says, "Though many people do have a meter, they don't get water regularly, but they do get a water bill every month." And it is this issue that has prompted many residents to resort to illegal connections. An illegal connection costs about Rs 4,500, whereas a BMC one costs Rs 35,000. The illegal connection, which can be up-and-running overnight, is done by breaking open the main pipeline, and attaching a parasite pipe to it. It is a common joke around the alleyways of Dharavi that the era of the BMC is over, and a new era of 'private' players has dawned.
The Society for Human and Environmental Development (SHED) is an NGO that has been working in Dharavi for the last 25 years. Mariam Rashid, SHED’s deputy director, says, "The new pipes are connected anywhere, and sometimes the fitting is not done properly. People don't bother to check whether the connections are made in the main pipeline, or in the sewage pipes." Water is stored in tanks, tubs and every other available vessel. Some residents dig holes in the ground to store water, but these are quickly filled with garbage. Dharavi's open wells are breeding grounds for fish and invariably polluted by garbage. Still, the water is used, no matter what quality, to wash clothes.
A labyrinth of bylanes and alleys it might be, but Dharavi is also a maze of pipes. Throughout the slum, sewage and fresh water pipelines run side by side. There is a high risk of water contamination and the outbreak of disease. Some residents follow doctors' orders and boil their water prior to drinking it, but others simply filter it through a cloth. As one resident puts it, "Where do we have the extra gas to boil water?" To tackle filtration worries, many water purifier companies have offered residents purifiers on an instalment basis.
The contaminated water causes a number of ailments like gastroenteritis and dysentery. Dr Riyaz Mavani, a family physician, practicing in the area, says, "Diseases are conceived due to water logging, the mixing of sewage water, and drinking contaminated water." The many factories in the Dharavi area are also responsible for contaminating the water with chemical waste. "There are around 400 doctors in this area, who get around 10 cases of water-borne disease, per day, which means roughly 4,000 people are affected with these ailments daily," says Mavani.
But Dharavi residents are beginning to address this dire situation and the women in each area have formed Mahila Samitis that meet once a month to discuss such issues. They also educate residents about the importance of boiling water.
So the next time you leave the tap running as you brush your teeth, or fill your bath tub every day for that luxurious soak, think about those for whom water is so scarce that their lives revolve around it. Water, like any other resource, is not infinite. Preserve it now, so that your children and grandchildren may live the life we now take for granted.
Now one of them is in danger of disappearing. As Mumbai’s population grows, the demand on the city’s existing infrastructure increases exponentially, and our water supply is finding it difficult to keep up. Most Mumbaikars should be thankful that they do not have to walk five kilometres every morning, just to fill one bucket of water, but for some this is a daily ordeal, and one that comes with its very own set of life-threatening problems.
In Dharavi, Asia’s largest slum, water scarcity has been the rule rather than the exception that tests it. Fifty-year-old, Laxmi Shinde's daily routine revolves around water. She wakes up every morning at 6am. She then waits half-an-hour at a common tap, shared by six families.
But if some readers feel that half-an-hour isn't that long, then think again. For the problem with Dharavi's water supply goes far deeper, and the outcome is far more grave.
Walking through the labyrinth slum, water is on residents’ minds, and the BMC officials seem impotent to bring about change.
Geeta Singh came to Dharavi after her marriage, 25 years ago. "We along with five other families got together and spent around a year trying to get a water meter, for which we shelled out Rs 3,500 per family," she says.
But getting a metre doesn't guarantee a regular supply of water. Haseena Shaikh, 39, a leader at a local Mahila Samiti, says, "Though many people do have a meter, they don't get water regularly, but they do get a water bill every month." And it is this issue that has prompted many residents to resort to illegal connections. An illegal connection costs about Rs 4,500, whereas a BMC one costs Rs 35,000. The illegal connection, which can be up-and-running overnight, is done by breaking open the main pipeline, and attaching a parasite pipe to it. It is a common joke around the alleyways of Dharavi that the era of the BMC is over, and a new era of 'private' players has dawned.
The Society for Human and Environmental Development (SHED) is an NGO that has been working in Dharavi for the last 25 years. Mariam Rashid, SHED’s deputy director, says, "The new pipes are connected anywhere, and sometimes the fitting is not done properly. People don't bother to check whether the connections are made in the main pipeline, or in the sewage pipes." Water is stored in tanks, tubs and every other available vessel. Some residents dig holes in the ground to store water, but these are quickly filled with garbage. Dharavi's open wells are breeding grounds for fish and invariably polluted by garbage. Still, the water is used, no matter what quality, to wash clothes.
A labyrinth of bylanes and alleys it might be, but Dharavi is also a maze of pipes. Throughout the slum, sewage and fresh water pipelines run side by side. There is a high risk of water contamination and the outbreak of disease. Some residents follow doctors' orders and boil their water prior to drinking it, but others simply filter it through a cloth. As one resident puts it, "Where do we have the extra gas to boil water?" To tackle filtration worries, many water purifier companies have offered residents purifiers on an instalment basis.
The contaminated water causes a number of ailments like gastroenteritis and dysentery. Dr Riyaz Mavani, a family physician, practicing in the area, says, "Diseases are conceived due to water logging, the mixing of sewage water, and drinking contaminated water." The many factories in the Dharavi area are also responsible for contaminating the water with chemical waste. "There are around 400 doctors in this area, who get around 10 cases of water-borne disease, per day, which means roughly 4,000 people are affected with these ailments daily," says Mavani.
But Dharavi residents are beginning to address this dire situation and the women in each area have formed Mahila Samitis that meet once a month to discuss such issues. They also educate residents about the importance of boiling water.
So the next time you leave the tap running as you brush your teeth, or fill your bath tub every day for that luxurious soak, think about those for whom water is so scarce that their lives revolve around it. Water, like any other resource, is not infinite. Preserve it now, so that your children and grandchildren may live the life we now take for granted.