Dharavi
Dharavi is a residential area in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It is considered India's largest slum and the world's third largest slum, after Pakistan's Orangi, Karachi and Mexico's Ciudad Neza, Mexico City. Dharavi has an area of just over 2.39 square kilometres (0.92 sq mi; 590 acres) and a population of about 700,000 to 1,000,000. With a population density of over 277,136/km2 (717,780/sq mi), Dharavi is one of the most densely populated areas in the world.
Dharavi | |
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View of Dharavi | |
Dharavi Dharavi, Mumbai, Maharashtra | |
| Coordinates: 19°02′16″N 72°51′13″E | |
| Country | India |
| State | Maharashtra |
| District | Mumbai City |
| City | Mumbai |
| Founded | 1884 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Municipal corporation |
| • Body | Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (MCGM) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 2.39 km2 (0.92 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 20.47 m (67.16 ft) |
| Population (2016) | 700,000 to 1,000,000 |
| Language | |
| • Official | Marathi |
| Time zone | UTC+05:30 (IST) |
| PIN | 400017 |
| Telephone code | +9122 |
| Vehicle registration | MH-01 |
| Civic agency | BMC |
The Dharavi slum was founded in 1884 during the British colonial era, and grew because the expulsion of factories and residents from the peninsular city centre by the colonial government and from the migration of rural Indians into urban Mumbai. For this reason, Dharavi is currently a highly diverse settlement religiously and ethnically.
Dharavi has an active informal economy in which numerous household enterprises employ many of the slum residents—leather, textiles and pottery products are among the goods made inside Dharavi. The total annual turnover has been estimated at over US$1 billion.
Dharavi has suffered from many epidemics and other disasters, including a widespread plague in 1896 which killed over half of the population of Bombay. Sanitation in the slums remains poor.