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For months, intimidating phone calls continued. Originally, reportedly from a retired cop and an ex-military commander, and then from the police themselves. Ultimately, Mohammad Khurshid Shaikh claims he was called to the police station and told clearly: keep quiet or encounter real trouble.

The leather artisan is among those opposing a expensive initiative where Dharavi – a massive informal community with rich history – faces demolished and modernized by a large business group.

"The unique ecosystem of this area is like nowhere else in the world," explains Shaikh. "But they want to dismantle our social fabric and stop us speaking out."

Dual Worlds

The cramped lanes of this community stand in sharp opposition to the high-rise structures and elite residences that overshadow the neighborhood. Dwellings are constructed informally and typically without proper sanitation, small-scale operations release harmful emissions and the atmosphere is permeated by the overpowering odor of exposed drainage.

Among some individuals, the promise of Dharavi transformed into a modern district of high-end towers, organized recreational areas, shiny shopping centers and apartments with two toilets is an optimistic future achieved.

"There's no sufficient health services, paved pathways or drainage and there's nowhere for children to play," states a chai seller, in his fifties, who relocated from southern India in the early eighties. "The sole solution is to clear the area and build us new homes."

Resident Opposition

But others, such as this protester, are fighting against the redevelopment.

Everyone acknowledges that Dharavi, consistently overlooked as unauthorized settlement, is in stark need economic input and modernization. However they are concerned that this plan – absent of public consultation – is one that will turn a piece of prime Mumbai real estate into a luxury development, forcing out the disadvantaged, working-class residents who have been there since generations ago.

This involved these excluded, displaced people who established the vacant wetlands into a frequently examined example of community resilience and economic productivity, whose production is estimated at between one million dollars and two million dollars annually, making it among the globe's biggest unofficial markets.

Displacement Concerns

Among approximately one million people living in the crowded 2.2 square kilometer zone, a minority will be qualified for replacement housing in the redevelopment, which is projected to take a significant period to finish. Others will be transferred to undeveloped zones and coastal regions on the far outskirts of the metropolis, risking divide a generations-old neighborhood. Some will be denied homes at all.

Those allowed to continue living in Dharavi will be provided units in multi-story structures, a major break from the natural, communal way of dwelling and laboring that has supported this area for so long.

Commercial activities from garment work to ceramic crafts and material recovery are expected to decrease in quantity and be relocated to an allocated "commercial zone" distant from homes.

Survival Challenge

In the case of Shaikh, a craftsman and third generation of his family to call home this community, the redevelopment presents a fundamental risk. His informal, three-storey facility creates apparel – formal jackets, premium outerwear, fashionable garments – sold in premium stores in south Mumbai and overseas.

Household members dwells in the accommodations below and employees and sewers – laborers from different regions – live there, permitting him to sustain operations. Beyond the slum, housing costs are typically 10 times costlier for minimal space.

Threats and Warning

In the government offices close by, an illustrated mock-up of the transformation initiative depicts a contrasting vision for the future. Well-groomed residents move around on cycles and e-vehicles, purchasing western-style bread and croissants and socializing on a terrace near Dharavi Cafe and treat station. This represents a world away from the 20-rupee idli sambar breakfast and low-cost tea that maintains Dharavi's community.

"This represents no development for residents," says the artisan. "This constitutes a massive real estate deal that will make it unaffordable for our community to continue."

Additionally, there exists concern of the development company. Run by a prominent businessman – among the country's wealthiest and a close ally of the government head – the business group has encountered allegations of favoritism and financial impropriety, which it disputes.

While administrative bodies describes it as a collaborative effort, the corporation invested a significant amount for its controlling interest. A case claiming that the redevelopment was unfairly awarded to the business group is under review in India's supreme court.

Continued Intimidation

From when they initiated to actively protest the redevelopment, protesters and community members claim they have been faced a long-running campaign of pressure and threats – including messages, explicit warnings and insinuations that opposing the project was equivalent to anti-national sentiment – by individuals they assert work for the developer.

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