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Across several weeks, threatening messages continued. Originally, supposedly from an ex-law enforcement official and an ex-military commander, later from the authorities. Finally, one resident states he was called to the police station and instructed bluntly: keep quiet or encounter real trouble.

Shaikh is one of many fighting a high-value initiative where this historic settlement – an iconic Mumbai neighborhood – faces bulldozed and modernized by a multinational conglomerate.

"The distinctive community of this area is exceptional in the world," explains the resident. "But their intention is to eradicate our social fabric and prevent our protests."

Contrasting Realities

The narrow alleys of the slum sit in stark contrast to the towering buildings and Bollywood penthouses that overshadow the settlement. Homes are built haphazardly and frequently lacking adequate facilities, unregulated industries produce dangerous fumes and the air is filled with the unpleasant stench of exposed drainage.

To some, the vision of a renewed Dharavi into a glistening neighborhood of high-end towers, well-maintained green spaces, modern retail complexes and apartments with two toilets is an optimistic future realized.

"There's no sufficient health services, paved pathways or sewage systems and we have no places for children to play," says a tea vendor, in his fifties, who relocated from southern India in 1982. "The only way is to tear it all down and build us new homes."

Community Resistance

However, some, such as the leather artisan, are fighting against the plan.

Everyone acknowledges that the slum, consistently overlooked as an illegal encroachment, is desperately requiring economic input and modernization. Yet they fear that this project – absent of community input – could potentially transform premium city property into a playground for the rich, displacing the lower-caste, working-class residents who have resided there since generations ago.

It was these shunned, relocated individuals who built up the uninhabited area into a frequently examined example of community resilience and economic productivity, whose output is worth between $1m and two million dollars annually, making it among the globe's biggest unregulated sectors.

Displacement Concerns

Among approximately 1 million inhabitants living in the dense sprawling area, less than 50% will be qualified for new homes in the project, which is estimated to take seven years to complete. Others will be transferred to barren areas and salt plains on the far outskirts of the city, potentially fragment a long-established social network. Certain individuals will receive no housing at all.

People eligible to continue living in the neighborhood will be allocated flats in multi-story structures, a substantial change from the organic, communal way of dwelling and laboring that has maintained the community for generations.

Commercial activities from garment work to clay work and recycling are expected to decrease in quantity and be transferred to an allocated "commercial zone" far from homes.

Survival Challenge

For those such as this protester, a workshop owner and multi-generational of his family to live in this community, the redevelopment presents a fundamental risk. His informal, three-floor facility makes apparel – formal jackets, suede trenches, fashionable garments – sold in premium stores in upscale neighborhoods and internationally.

His family resides in the rooms underneath and employees and tailors – laborers from different regions – reside in the same building, allowing him to afford their labour. Away from this community, accommodation prices are typically tenfold costlier for minimal space.

Harassment and Intimidation

Within the official facilities nearby, an illustrated mock-up of the Dharavi project depicts a contrasting outlook. Slickly dressed residents move around on cycles and electric vehicles, purchasing western-style bread and breakfast items and socializing on an outdoor area adjacent to a coffee shop and treat station. It is a world away from the 20-rupee idli sambar first meal and 5-rupee chai that sustains the neighborhood.

"This isn't progress for our community," says the protester. "This constitutes a massive property transaction that will price people out for us to survive."

Additionally, there exists distrust of the development company. Headed by an influential industrialist – a leading figure and a supporter of the government head – the corporation has encountered allegations of crony capitalism and questionable practices, which it disputes.

While the state government calls it a collaborative effort, the developer paid a significant amount for its 80% stake. A lawsuit alleging that the project was improperly granted to the corporation is being considered in the top court.

Ongoing Pressure

After they started to publicly resist the redevelopment, local opponents claim they have been subjected to ongoing efforts of coercion and warning – including messages, explicit warnings and insinuations that criticizing the development was tantamount to anti-national sentiment – by figures they allege work for the business conglomerate.

Included in these alleged to have delivering warnings is {a retired police officer|a former law enforcement official|an ex-c