A* essay answer for the exam question "Suggest why there is an urgent need to improve residential slums such as Dharavi? (10)". This essay explores the major problems associated with the Mumbai slum Dharavi and its affect on the growth of Mumbai economically and socially.
Written by an A* A leve...
Suggest why there is an urgent need to improve residential slums such as Dharavi? (10)
Dhavari is a slum or shanty town of over 1 million inhabitants in 1km 2, located in the centre of
Mumbai, a rapidly growing mega city with the hopes of becoming the next Shanghai. Asia's largest
unplanned squatter settlement, Dharavi provides accommodation from £2.20 per month for those who
move there to work. However, despite generating $39 million a year, particularly in the informal sector
with recycling and rag picking making up a large percentage of the slum's high employment of 85%,
the slum settlement has many major problems that are obstacles to the development of Mumbai.
The nature of the slum, being built on a rubbish tip of human waste, in addition to toxic plastic waste,
is a severe threat to human health, especially because of the lack of public health amenities and
regulations in place to ensure safety and environmental protection. With a extremely high populations
density—for example 21 people living in a 12 ft shack, which generally consist of three generations—
there is a large pressure on limited resources, in particular water, which is rationed to 2 hours per day
as well as having 12 houses using each tap. These low levels of sanitation—which included open
sewers, lack of drains and 500 people per toilet— result in 4000 cases of sickness per day, in addition
to diphtheria, typhoid and cholera.
Due to the informal nature of the work, in combination with having no worker's rights protection in
place, exploitation and sweat shops are commonplace. Much of the factory work occurs in any of
15,000 1 room factories where over 10,000 children between the ages 8 and 14 are employed, working
in poor conditions for low wages. Products made in these factories, which include pottery, cracker toys
and clothes, are sold all around the world, contributing to the thriving economy of Dhavari.
However, Dhavari is seen as obstacle for the growth of Mumbai because of the deteriorating conditions
and slowing down of economic growth which has led to 'Vision Mumbai' which aims to tackle these
problems—reducing the illegal slum population and improving the quality of life. This is supported by
the desirable location of Dhavari, which is seen as prime property land, worth $10 billion, therefore
encouraging the private investment that will have a positive multiplier effect on the area. The key
problems being addressed by this new plan are air pollution, water, sanitation, education and
healthcare—all of which are major problems in Dharavi. Overall, there is a need to improve slums such
as Dharavi because of the poor sanitation conditions that are common in squatter settlements, which is
exacerbated by the high population density and pressure for vital resources like water. These problems
prevent the economic growth of Mumbai and threaten its hopes for becoming a world-class city by
featuring poor general safety and low living conditions in the central business district of Mumbai.
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