mumbai slums Citizen Matters, Mumbai

As vaccines are being approved, time to remember stories of those who helped us through 2020

January 5, 2021 Santoshee Gulabkali Mishra

As talks of vaccines acquire a shrill pitch, we speak to mortuary workers at one of the biggest public hospitals in the city. And how they saw us through the hard days in the past few months.

Possible alternatives for Mumbai slums in a post-COVID-19 world

December 23, 2020 Rahul Kadri

What needs to be done in order to formalise the informal settlements in Mumbai?

Dharavi women take to street vending to feed families

November 23, 2020 Apekshita Varshney

There has been a significant increase in street vending during the pandemic. But the hurdles these vendors face have not reduced.

‘We demand Child Protection Systems’: Mumbai’s teen leaders

November 19, 2020 Shimon Ramesh Patole

Functional Child Protection Committees could have helped during the lockdown when the problems of children increased rapidly. They just weren’t that many.

Mumbai teens release a Child Rights Manifesto: Demand to be heard

November 18, 2020 Pravin Kadam

Teens from Mankhurd drafted a manifesto – A Charter of Children’s Demands. And demanded accountability from the authorities.

Parts of Mumbai are warmer than others

October 23, 2020 Apekshita Varshney

The variance in temperature is broadly because of three factors: the building material (impervious concrete, asphalt and metal are known to have a higher surface temperature), access to open spaces, and green cover.

The sad story of Mumbai’s first “slum self-development project”

October 17, 2020 Apekshita Varshney

17 years ago, a slum community in Mumbai tried to self-develop their settlement. As the project was moving towards completion, an alleged scam halted the construction and deprived the city of its first success story in self-development

Solution to Mumbai’s housing crisis: enable people to build their own homes

October 13, 2020 Apekshita Varshney

Governments need to provide basic amenities, improve infrastructure, and offer the required technical and financial assistance. Houses can be built by people themselves.

The story of Dharavi’s elusive redevelopment

July 22, 2020 Aarohi Damle and Marina Joseph

Dharavi gives us a wake up call that social distancing is physically impossible on 250-odd hectares of land with a population of approximately 8,50,000 residents and where 10 or more people often stay in housing units measuring 250 sq. ft.

Toys, some joy and a little hope in times of COVID-19

May 20, 2020 Kedar Nagarajan

In M East ward in Mumbai, children in poor and informal settlements are being engaged in creative learning activities to distract them from the stress of COVID-19.

How youth from a Mumbai slum ensured food for all in the community during the COVID crisis

April 17, 2020 Kaustubh Jagtap

It was not a mean feat — battling poverty, the lockdown and even antagonism from some higher powers. But in an amazing display of method, generosity and resilience, youth from Bhagat Singh Nagar slum gathered under the banner of ‘Bhakar Foundation’ to ensure noone in the slum went hungry.