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For months, intimidating messages recurred. Originally, allegedly from an ex-law enforcement official and a retired army general, later from the authorities. In the end, one resident asserts he was called to the police station and warned explicitly: remain silent or face serious consequences.

Shaikh is part of a group fighting a high-value project where one of India's largest slums – a massive informal community with rich history – will be demolished and transformed by a multinational conglomerate.

"The distinctive community of this area is exceptional in the globe," explains Shaikh. "However the plan aims to eradicate our community and silence our voices."

Dual Worlds

The dank gullies of the slum stand in sharp opposition to the soaring skyscrapers and Bollywood penthouses that loom over the area. Homes are built haphazardly and frequently lacking adequate facilities, small-scale operations produce dangerous fumes and the atmosphere is filled with the overpowering odor of uncovered waste channels.

For certain residents, the promise of a renewed Dharavi into a developed area of premium apartments, well-maintained green spaces, contemporary malls and residences with proper sanitation is an aspirational dream realized.

"We don't have adequate medical facilities, paved pathways or drainage and there are no spaces for youth to recreate," explains A Selvin Nadar, in his fifties, who migrated from his home state in 1982. "The sole solution is to demolish everything and construct proper housing."

Community Resistance

But others, such as the leather artisan, are resisting the project.

None deny that this community, consistently overlooked as unauthorized settlement, is desperately requiring financial support and improvement. Yet they worry that this plan – absent of resident participation – might convert premium city property into a playground for the rich, forcing out the marginalized, working-class residents who have resided there since the late 1800s.

This involved these shunned, migrant workers who built up the vacant wetlands into a widely studied marvel of local enterprise and economic productivity, whose production is valued at between $1m and $2m a year, making it a major informal economies.

Displacement Concerns

Of the roughly a million inhabitants living in the packed sprawling neighborhood, less than 50% will be eligible for replacement housing in the development, which is expected to take a significant period to accomplish. The remainder will be transferred to wastelands and salt plains on the distant periphery of Mumbai, potentially divide a generations-old social network. Certain individuals will receive no homes at all.

People eligible to stay in the area will be provided apartments in high-rise buildings, a substantial change from the organic, communal way of living and working that has maintained this area for many years.

Industries from garment work to pottery and recycling are likely to decrease in quantity and be relocated to an allocated "commercial zone" distant from homes.

Survival Challenge

For residents like this protester, a workshop owner and long-time resident to reside in Dharavi, the project presents a survival challenge. His makeshift, three-floor workshop creates apparel – tailored coats, luxury coats, fashionable garments – sold in high-end shops in south Mumbai and abroad.

Household members dwells in the accommodations below and laborers and sewers – laborers from different regions – also sleep there, permitting him to manage costs. Away from this community, Mumbai rents are typically tenfold costlier for minimal space.

Threats and Warning

Within the government offices in the vicinity, a visual representation of the Dharavi project shows an alternative perspective. Fashionable inhabitants move around on bicycles and eco-friendly transport, buying international baguettes and breakfast items and socializing on an outdoor area adjacent to a coffee shop and Ice-Cream. It is a stark contrast from the 20-rupee idli sambar morning meal and budget beverage that sustains local residents.

"This is not progress for us," states the artisan. "This constitutes a massive property transaction that will render it impossible for residents to remain."

Additionally, there exists distrust of the business conglomerate. Run by a prominent businessman – a leading figure and a supporter of the national leader – the business group has been subject to claims of crony capitalism and ethical concerns, which it denies.

Although the state government describes it as a collaborative effort, the developer contributed nearly a billion dollars for its 80% stake. A case alleging that the initiative was improperly granted to the business group is pending in the top court.

Sustained Harassment

From when they initiated to actively protest the development, local opponents assert they have been faced an extended period of pressure and threats – including phone calls, clear intimidation and implications that criticizing the project was equivalent to speaking against the country – by people they claim represent the business conglomerate.

Included in these alleged to have issuing the threats is {a retired police officer|a former law enforcement official|an ex-c