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For months, coercive messages continued. At first, supposedly from a retired cop and a retired army general, subsequently from the authorities. In the end, Mohammad Khurshid Shaikh states he was called to the police station and warned explicitly: remain silent or experience severe repercussions.

The leather artisan is one of many fighting a multimillion-dollar initiative where this historic settlement – a massive informal community with rich history – will be demolished and transformed by a large business group.

"The culture of Dharavi is unparalleled in the globe," says Shaikh. "Yet the plan aims to eradicate our community and silence our voices."

Opposing Environments

The narrow alleys of this community present a dramatic difference to the soaring skyscrapers and elite residences that loom over the area. Residences are assembled randomly and frequently missing basic amenities, informal businesses release harmful emissions and the air is filled with the overpowering odor of open sewers.

Among some individuals, the vision of Dharavi transformed into a modern district of luxury high-rises, neat parks, shiny shopping centers and homes with multiple bathrooms is a hopeful vision achieved.

"There's no proper healthcare, roads or water management and there are no spaces for children to play," says a tea vendor, 56, who migrated from his home state in that period. "The single option is to demolish everything and construct proper housing."

Community Resistance

Yet certain residents, like Shaikh, are opposing the project.

Everyone acknowledges that this community, consistently overlooked as unauthorized settlement, is in stark need economic input and modernization. But they are concerned that this initiative – lacking resident participation – could potentially transform valuable urban land into an elite enclave, forcing out the marginalized, working-class residents who have resided there since generations ago.

These were these excluded, migrant workers who built up the vacant wetlands into a frequently examined example of self-reliance and economic productivity, whose production is estimated at between a significant amount and two million dollars a year, making it among the globe's biggest unofficial markets.

Displacement Concerns

Of the roughly one million inhabitants living in the packed 2.2 square kilometer zone, less than 50% will be able for new homes in the project, which is expected to take an extended timeframe to complete. Others will be relocated to undeveloped zones and coastal regions on the far outskirts of the city, threatening to break up a long-established social network. A portion will be denied homes at all.

Those allowed to continue living in Dharavi will be given apartments in multi-story structures, a major break from the organic, collective approach of living and working that has maintained Dharavi for so long.

Businesses from clothing production to pottery and waste processing are likely to shrink in number and be relocated to a specific "industrial sector" distant from residential areas.

Survival Challenge

For residents like the leather artisan, a workshop owner and long-time of his family to call home the slum, the plan presents a survival challenge. His makeshift, multi-level operation produces leather coats – sharp blazers, luxury coats, studded bomber jackets – marketed in luxury boutiques in south Mumbai and internationally.

His family resides in the accommodations underneath and employees and sewers – migrants from north India – live on-site, allowing him to afford their labour. Outside this community, accommodation prices are frequently tenfold as high for a single room.

Threats and Warning

In the administrative buildings in the vicinity, a visual representation of the redevelopment plan depicts a contrasting outlook. Fashionable people gather on bicycles and eco-friendly transport, purchasing continental bread and breakfast items and enlisting beverages on a terrace outside a restaurant and treat station. This depicts a stark contrast from the affordable idli sambar breakfast and 5-rupee chai that supports Dharavi's community.

"This isn't progress for residents," says the protester. "It's a massive land development that will make it unaffordable for residents to remain."

There is also distrust of the development company. Managed by a powerful tycoon – among the country's wealthiest and a supporter of the Indian prime minister – the conglomerate has faced accusations of favoritism and questionable practices, which it denies.

Even as administrative bodies calls it a partnership, the corporation contributed nearly a billion dollars for its majority share. A lawsuit claiming that the project was unfairly awarded to the corporation is pending in the top court.

Continued Intimidation

From when they initiated to vocally oppose the redevelopment, local opponents claim they have been faced a long-running campaign of pressure and threats – comprising phone calls, clear intimidation and suggestions that opposing the development was equivalent to anti-national sentiment – by people they allege work for the business conglomerate.

Among those accused of making intimidations is {a retired police officer|a former law enforcement official|an ex-c