"For months, the threatening phone calls kept coming. First, allegedly from an ex-police officer and a retired army general, and then from the police themselves. Finally, Mohammad Khurshid Shaikh claims, he was summoned to the police station and told clearly: keep quiet or there will be real trouble for you. Shaikh is among those fighting a multimillion-dollar project in which Dharavi one of India's largest and most storied slums will be bulldozed and redeveloped by the multinational conglomerate Adani Group."
"The culture and ecosystem of Dharavi is like nowhere else in the world, says Shaikh. But they want to destroy our community and stop us speaking out. The dank gullies of Dharavi sit in stark contrast to the soaring skyscrapers and Bollywood penthouses that loom over the settlement. Homes are built haphazardly and often without proper sanitation, unregulated industries emit toxic smoke and the air is filled with the suffocating smell of open sewers."
For months residents opposed to a multimillion-dollar Adani redevelopment project received threatening phone calls and alleged police intimidation, with at least one activist summoned and warned to keep quiet. The plan would bulldoze Dharavi, one of India's largest slums, replacing dense informal housing and micro-industries with luxury towers. Dharavi's culture and ecosystem are unique and sustain livelihoods—about 80% of Mumbai's plastic is recycled there—yet living conditions lack sanitation, drainage, healthcare and play space. Some residents support demolition for new homes and services. Many fear the project, carried out without public consultation, will displace lower-caste and migrant communities and enable gentrification.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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