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For months, coercive communications recurred. Originally, reportedly from an ex-law enforcement official and a retired army general, later from the police themselves. Ultimately, Mohammad Khurshid Shaikh states he was called to law enforcement headquarters and warned explicitly: stop speaking out or face serious consequences.

This third-generation resident is among those resisting a expensive initiative where this historic settlement – an iconic Mumbai neighborhood – is scheduled to be demolished and modernized by a multinational conglomerate.

"The culture of the slum is like nowhere else in the world," states Shaikh. "But they want to eradicate our way of life and silence our voices."

Dual Worlds

The narrow alleys of the slum present a dramatic difference to the towering buildings and luxury apartments that overshadow the neighborhood. Residences are assembled randomly and frequently missing basic amenities, informal businesses produce dangerous fumes and the air is saturated with the suffocating smell of exposed drainage.

For certain residents, the prospect of Dharavi transformed into a glistening neighborhood of premium apartments, organized recreational areas, contemporary malls and homes with proper sanitation is an aspirational dream achieved.

"There's no adequate medical facilities, proper streets or sewage systems and we have no places for kids to enjoy," says a tea vendor, in his fifties, who moved from his home state in that period. "The sole solution is to tear it all down and provide modern residences."

Local Protest

However, some, including this protester, are resisting the redevelopment.

All recognize that the slum, long neglected as an illegal encroachment, is in stark need investment and development. But they are concerned that this plan – lacking resident participation – could potentially turn a piece of prime Mumbai real estate into an elite enclave, displacing the disadvantaged, migrant communities who have been there since the nineteenth century.

These were these marginalized, migrant workers who built up the empty marshland into a widely studied marvel of community resilience and commercial output, whose economic value is estimated at between one million dollars and $2m per year, making it among the globe's biggest unregulated sectors.

Resettlement Issues

Of the roughly a million residents living in the crowded 220-hectare zone, fewer than half will be qualified for replacement housing in the redevelopment, which is estimated to take a significant period to finish. Others will be moved to barren areas and coastal regions on the remote edges of the city, threatening to divide a long-established community. A portion will be denied housing at all.

People eligible to remain in the neighborhood will be given flats in multi-story structures, a substantial change from the natural, shared lifestyle of residing and operating that has supported this area for many years.

Businesses from clothing production to ceramic crafts and waste processing are expected to reduce in scale and be moved to an allocated "commercial zone" far from residential areas.

Livelihood Crisis

In the case of Shaikh, a leather artisan and multi-generational resident to reside in the slum, the plan presents a fundamental risk. His informal, three-floor workshop makes leather coats – sharp blazers, luxury coats, fashionable garments – distributed in high-end shops in south Mumbai and internationally.

His family resides in the accommodations below and employees and sewers – migrants from north India – live on-site, allowing him to afford their labour. Away from the slum, Mumbai rents are frequently tenfold costlier for a single room.

Threats and Warning

At the administrative buildings close by, a visual representation of the transformation initiative shows an alternative vision for the future. Fashionable residents mill about on bicycles and eco-friendly transport, acquiring international baked goods and croissants and enlisting beverages on a patio outside Dharavi Cafe and Ice-Cream. This depicts a stark contrast from the inexpensive idli sambar first meal and 5-rupee chai that sustains Dharavi's community.

"This isn't progress for our community," states the protester. "It represents an enormous property transaction that will make it unaffordable for us to survive."

Furthermore, there's skepticism of the business conglomerate. Headed by a prominent businessman – among the country's wealthiest and a supporter of the Indian prime minister – the conglomerate has encountered allegations of favoritism and financial impropriety, which it denies.

Even as local authorities describes it as a partnership, the developer paid $950m for its controlling interest. A case alleging that the redevelopment was improperly granted to the business group is under review in India's supreme court.

Continued Intimidation

From when they initiated to vocally oppose the redevelopment, local opponents assert they have been subjected to a long-running campaign of coercion and warning – involving messages, direct threats and insinuations that opposing the development was tantamount to opposing national interests – by individuals they assert work for the business conglomerate.

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