Dharavi - Its Beginnings and Current Status

Dharavi was once a mangrove swamp on the edge of Mumbai.  Today, more than a million people live on its 550 acres.  Many of its residents are employed in "cottage industries" within Dharavi itself. 

Now there are plans to develop the area, but Dharavi's inhabitants - who built the city-within-a-city on their own (without government help) - are very worried that outside developers will not seek their input and redevelopment plans will not address their needs.

Credits

Clip from a documentary, filmed in April, 2008, by the Stanley Foundation - a nonpartisan foundation.

Online, courtesy the Stanley Foundation.