Megacity Mumbai - From slums to skyscrapers | DW Documentary

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Video unavailable in India :(

👍︎︎ 73 👤︎︎ u/99Troll 📅︎︎ Feb 12 2022 đź—«︎ replies

WTF, I literally live here and it is not available for me. Will be glad if someone downloads and uploads for downloading.

👍︎︎ 38 👤︎︎ u/iphone4Suser 📅︎︎ Feb 12 2022 đź—«︎ replies

Going higher doesn't mean it gets better. -Montgomery Tishole

👍︎︎ 20 👤︎︎ u/Bag-ins 📅︎︎ Feb 12 2022 đź—«︎ replies

The people living in the slums were industrious and contributing to the city and helping solve problems. They deserve better services, instead they were relocated by greedy developers who didn’t care about their livelihoods. Those apartments they were moved to seemed terrible compared to the slums. Interesting documentary, mind boggling how many people live there and how they make it work.

👍︎︎ 7 👤︎︎ u/sackitempires 📅︎︎ Feb 13 2022 đź—«︎ replies

My brother just went here to get dental work down. American dentists wanted 80k USD for the same thing an Indian dentist charged 15k for.

Edit: He got his entire mouth replaced with cubic zirconia implants. They did such a good job we told him if he ever comes to America to let us know, he has free room and board for life!

👍︎︎ 16 👤︎︎ u/Starilae 📅︎︎ Feb 12 2022 đź—«︎ replies

You just know when they at the moment they call themself "Slum rehabilitation" that they are going to be some real evil dudes.

👍︎︎ 14 👤︎︎ u/Tastingo 📅︎︎ Feb 12 2022 đź—«︎ replies

Well, they go through the lives of normal citizens, from the poorest to the richest, and in the end the richest guy gets arrested for corruption. That was an interesting plot twist

👍︎︎ 9 👤︎︎ u/oursfort 📅︎︎ Feb 12 2022 đź—«︎ replies

I watched this last week and it breaks my heart the way slums are viewed. They are of course rough and dirty but the people living there are resilient and innovative, they have their own levels of industry and economy! I think shipping them off to communist style tower blocks on the edge of town does them a huge disservice. You are taking them away from where they can be the most productive… maybe if the trains were better or they invested in industry, shops and gardens by these ugly towers the residents would at least have some chance at happiness?? Idk but how these rich people view the slums as something they need to “rehabilitate” (erase and sweep under a rug) makes me very sad…

👍︎︎ 9 👤︎︎ u/tonkzilla 📅︎︎ Feb 12 2022 đź—«︎ replies

seems like the problem could be the number of children couples are having -- in the documentary the interviewees had 6 kids, another nine. currently 22 million and climbing to 40 million.. in one city!

👍︎︎ 3 👤︎︎ u/artistformerlydave 📅︎︎ Feb 14 2022 đź—«︎ replies
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Mumbai, on the west coast of India. Once called Bombay, this megacity has become India’s economic powerhouse. The city’s population is exploding. In 1951, Mumbai had a population of just 3 million. Today that number has skyrocketed to 20 million. And it is only increasing. And as space grows scarce, hundreds of high-rises are being bult — mostly luxury apartments for the super-rich. But making room for these new buildings means tearing down hundreds of hectares of Mumbai’s slums. Bharat Duppar is a contractor. For such a beautiful view, we’ll have to clear out more slums. Mumbai is a city both hungry for success and struggling for survival. For many, this megacity is the embodiment of the Indian Dream. Mumbai. India’s economic and financial centre. Over 20 million people live here. Traffic jams, sometimes stretching for kilometres, bring city life to a stand still. Millions commute by train every day. However, the city’s railway system only has four lines. During the rush hour, stations become very crowded. The platforms are filled well beyond capacity, mostly with male passengers. There’s the train. Every morning Vinit, a young accountant, spends 90 minutes commuting. It’s here in a minute. You need to elbow your way through just to get on the train. Empty seats are hard to come by. It’s annoying. Every day you have to fight your way through the crowd. Sometimes you can't even get to the doors. Some are pushing in, others push their way out. Sometimes I have to let two or three trains go by. The fans are not powerful enough. It's almost 45 degrees inside. But despite the crowding, these insurance clerks, lawyers and bankers are in a good mood. We’re enjoying every day. It is not that difficult! We are enjoying our journey. It’s really warm this morning, but that’s pretty normal for us. But just because this commute is ?normal“ or routine, does not mean it is always safe. Accidents often occur when passengers try to cling to the carriages or are pushed out of them. This woman could have died. Fortunately another passenger was able to reach her. Vinit arrives at his destination. “When you get to work you’re pretty exhausted, right?” Yes, very exhausted. I need half an hour’s rest when I get there. Every year around 6,000 people lose their lives on the tracks in Mumbai. Samir Zaveri miraculously survived. In the 90s he lost both legs in a tragic accident. The station’s entrance was full so I crossed over the tracks and slipped. Fortunately, I was not lying with my upper body on the rails. Suddenly a train came and ran over my legs. Some people took me to the nearest hospital. They stopped my bleeding pretty quickly and saved my life. Samir Zaveri has been campaigning for safer train travel ever since. These trains are carrying three or four times as many passengers as the legal limit. First off, I am demanding that all trains have doors that remain closed during the journey. Secondly, I am fighting for free medical care in case of accidents, paid by the government. The city is building three more lines to improve commuting conditions. But there are even more challenges ahead for this megacity. Dharavi is a slum right in the heart of Mumbai. It is considered the largest slum in Asia. Nearly 1 million people live here on 2 square kilometres. The power grid is weak, water is only available for two hours a day and there is no sewage system. Poverty is everywhere. But Dharavi’s locals have adapted to these conditions, developing their own infrastructure. These workers use the limited space they have to disassemble cars in tiny workshops. Or tailor clothes. Keep going ? just a little further. Mahesh is 27 and grew up in Dharavi . This morning he receives valuable goods plastic canisters. Mahesh makes his living from the waste plastic of the megacity. Mumbai used to be really filthy. There was garbage and plastic waste all over the place. Now we're cleaning it up. We collect the bottles that are thrown everywhere and we recycle them. His recycling business has 25 employees. For 200 rupees a day, the equivalent of just under two euros, they sort the plastic waste by colour and type. For the white plastic bottles, for example, we get up to 20 rupees per kilo. With that we pay the wages and bills. I can even put a little of it aside. Once it’s all sorted, workers shred the plastic by hand — for the equivalent of five euros a day. They do not wear protective clothing. The end result is a granulate that is delivered to wholesalers for further processing. Are you guys done or is anything left? There are thousands of recycling plants in Dharavi. Most of the city's plastic waste gets sorted in the slum. Dharavi is actually quite big. Lots of people live here and run businesses. They raise their kids and take care of their families. It’s difficult for businesses to pay taxes. Still, people manage to get by. Mahesh earns the equivalent of 500 euros a month. That’s pretty average in Mumbai, but it’s around ten times as much as in the rest of India. He lives with his parents in this 5 square metre home. Tough living conditions, but it’s fine for Mahesh. We have really changed this neighbourhood for the better. We used to have wooden walls here, now we have real bricks. We took out loans to build this house. We have water, electricity. Everything we need. Mahesh and his family own this entire building. They go up to the second floor with a ladder and a rope. This floor is also part of my building. I rent it out. As long as people work, they live here and pay us rent. Workers also rent the second floor. There is a sewing shop on the top floor. His rentals bring in the equivalent of 200 euros a month. Dharavi’s small-scale businesses generate the equivalent of more than 800 million euros per year. Dharavi first garnered international attention as the setting of the film. "Slumdog Millionaire.” It tells the story of a young man who becomes rich after appearing on a game show. The film's success turned the slum into a bit of a tourist attraction For many travellers, it’s a unique opportunity to pick up some locally made products. Like in this leather boutique. The bags on offer here carry the Dhavari brand name. How much is it? 3200 rupees. This tourist is from China. You feel like you’re in a normal store. Everybody is smiling. I’m really surprised how people can live in such a harsh environment. It is made of Nubuck Leather and costs 3500 rupees. We accept credit cards, dollars, euros, all currencies. Also cash. Imran is proud to sell his neighbourhood’s brand. It's a slum, but a very unique one. Actually it’s like a huge business. People make ends meet, don't become criminals, and want to get ahead in life. Just like all of us. Our goal is to make the "Dharavi" brand more popular than American brands like Michael Kors or Jimmy Choo. In total, Imran employs 40 people to tan and dye the leather. Is everything OK? Imran's father Wahaz started the family business when he came to Mumbai in the 1970s — hoping for a better life. I worked very hard, that's just the way it was. My hands hurt a lot, I couldn't sleep at night. I was very poor. I came from a village and only had a hundred rupees with me. But with hard work I achieved all this. The family moved to the top floor of this modern high-rise building in 2016. Right in the middle of the slum. The price, The equivalent of 300,000 euros for 70 square meters and a good view. Here is the master bedroom, for my father and mother. I sleep in the small room here. I’ll show you how we set it up. I’ve worked very hard on this house. Imran and his family are among Mumbai’s privileged few. They have running water. Running water 24 hours a day. Has your dream come true? Yes, my dream came true. The young entrepreneur is proud of belonging to the small circle of Mumbai's elite. Most celebrities and politicians live up in the skyscrapers because they have the money for it. It is a major sign of success. Everyone dreams of living at the top. In Mumbai, the higher up you live, the richer you are. Down below, the city is choking on air pollution. The noise is incessant. But for those living above the city, there is only silence. When you can afford a penthouse high atop a skyscraper, you get peace and quiet. “Good Morning” That’s good for London. Babulal Varma is a building contractor. He lives in this 250-square-meter luxury apartment with his wife and two children. Time to eat! The domestic-staff serves breakfast every morning. Sit facing each other. Babulal Varma is originally from Rajasthan, in northern India. He settled in Mumbai in the early 2000s. Building is in my blood — I got it from my father and my grandfather. We have been in this business for more than a hundred years. Just take a look around Rajasthan. My great-grandfather built most of the palaces there. Why did you decide to come to Mumbai? Mumbai is growing so quickly. Everyone wants to make a profit from it. It has huge potential. The entrepreneur built his first residential tower in 2003. Today he is involved in countless construction projects across Mumbai. I know it takes time. So you'd better start early. We build a lot of skyscrapers. My business partners and I have already built over 35 of them, with more than 50 floors. Why do you need to build so high? Because there is no space in Mumbai. We are surrounded by water on three sides. With the population growing every day, the only solution is to build upwards. In order to create more space, the entrepreneur is taking a radical approach, tearing down hundreds of hectares of the slums. We have already started over here, next to the bridge. Come back in one or two years and there’ll be some beautiful building here. His goal is to make the Dharavi slum disappear. Everyone knows Dharavi because of the movie Slumdog Millionaire. It’s in the heart of the city. But if your heart is sick, it doesn’t do you any good. The headquarters of the construction company — with its 800 employees, it is one of the largest companies in India to specialize in “slum rehabilitation.” Oh, Mr. Palival is here. To buy a hotel?. Today, they are discussing one of their biggest projects. So this is up and running ? The top part is still missing. Everything else is ready. The school is a problem. We have to take care of that. But before construction work can begin, the company must convince local Dharavi residents to leave their homes. We’re in the process of clearing out 65 hectares of the slum. We’ll build shopping centres, offices and apartments in their place. Hundreds of hectares of slums in total have already been demolished. Our conversation was interesting, but we’re not finished yet, OK? Life, protected from the outside world. Bharat Dhuppar is managing director of the construction company. We’ve already cleaned some things up, but there’s still a lot to do. We’ll have to clear out some more slums to get this view. However, the developers are required, by law, to find new homes for the former slum residents. This program builds proper homes for the people who had to leave the slums. We build the houses they will move into. This is how poor people get housing for free. We sell off the other buildings. What do these apartments look like? The company has another redevelopment project in Worli, a neighbourhood in the heart of Mumbai. Three luxury towers, 250 meters high. Meanwhile the former slum residents down below live in cramped, dilapidated properties with only a few square metres of space. We supported the developers, Babulal Varma and his colleague, at first. But they have not treated us fairly. It’s been 12 years, and almost nothing has happened. We still don’t have a road, a garden. It’s unacceptable. Despite the many promises made by developers there are still no schools or stores. Only construction sites. No one feels responsible. Who should we turn to? Suddenly Omkar, the company's press officer, interrupts the interview. Dissatisfied residents airing their grievances are frowned upon. Shooting will only take place on the upper floor, under the press officer’s watchful eye. He chooses a family of 6 to live in two 29 square meter rooms free of charge. Assuming that the camera team would not understand him, the press officer tells the father of the family what to say on camera. No thanks, not for me. I am a diabetic. Say, "When I was my son's age, I grew up in a slum. My parents did their best to give me an education and now I want a comfortable life for my children. The man repeats what he’s been told to say. When I was as young as my son, I lived in a slum. Today we live in a nice apartment. Thanks to Omkar, our life is better now. We live in a good neighbourhood and my son will also have a good education. He wanted to be an engineer? But now he’d rather join the police. But not every family is given a flat like this. The prerequisite is having to have spent at least 20 years in a slum. But what happens to people who don’t meet this requirement? They are sent to live in a housing project on the outskirts of town, like the one at Lallubhai Compound. 8000 families live in this very small area, in these crowded blocks of flats. Even though they were built in 2003, they are already rundown. Just outside the neighbourhood, wastewater drains into an open sewer. In 2013, authorities levelled a section of Dharavi, displacing 200 families living there, forcing them to relocate to these buildings. Now, Abdul and his family of six call this single room “home” They destroyed our home. We were forced to come here. We were totally unprepared when we got our eviction notice. Abdul ran a small store in Dharavi. Today he works as a courier and earns only half as much as he used to. We don't feel as comfortable here as we did in Dharavi . This family of scrap dealers misses their old neighbourhood too. Three generations share this 29 square metre home. This is where our family lives, this is our room and these are our things. Sardar is furious at the authorities. I have nine kids, here are my parents, my brother and his wife. Altogether that’s 16, 17 people. How can we live in a place like this? And where do you all sleep? Some of us sleep under the bed, others on the bed in the kitchen, wherever there’s space. It’s not easy. But renovating the slums doesn’t put an end to the misery, it just moves it elsewhere. In January of 2021, there is a surprising turn of events. Contractor Babulal Varma is arrested for fraud and embezzlement. People from all over India move to Mumbai everyday. Many find work in the city’s winding back alleys. They work as barbers, tailors, or in food stalls. And some of them as food delivery cyclists. Delivery services have been popular for more than a century. Shankar works as a dabbawala. He, like 5,000 other dabbawalas throughout Mumbai, delivers lunches. Lots of dabbawalas have accidents. Of course that scares me. Especially with this crazy traffic. As soon as he gets the bags Shankar meets up with his colleagues. Give me the empties, take the full ones, let’s go! Each of them has a specific delivery route. Depending on where they’re going, they swap baskets and keep track of each other — all without navigation apps. They mark each bag with a code of numbers and letters. Most Dabbawalas are illiterate. But they can decipher the codes. These containers come to me, I have to remember the numbers, like this one, 7, 2, 1. Then we know where it’s going. The Dabbawalas’ coding system is so efficient and well structured that it has even caught the attention of researchers at Harvard University. Carrying 30 kilograms in 45 degree heat means that every pedal stroke is pure torture. But these Dabbawalas know how to keep themselves motivated. And he does it. This accountant pays the equivalent of 10 euros a month for Shankar's delivery service. Why have your food delivered? Well housewives are happy to make it. It’s fresh, warm and very healthy. Shankar makes the equivalent of 136 euros a month.... Come on, we'll miss the train. Which is just a quarter of the average salary in Mumbai. But dabbwala’s do not simply choose this challenging profession. They inherit it from their fathers. First my grandfather did it, then my father and today, it’s my job. It took my dad just a few days to show me the ropes. Shankar and his colleagues deliver 73 million meals every year. Mumbai’s residents keep many of its traditions alive. And yet this megacity stays squarely focused on the future Mumbai’s constant growth has pushed the city limits into nature preserves. In northern Mumbai, this urban expansion has already resulted in clashes with local wildlife. Stretching across 100 square kilometres, the Sanjay Gandhi National Park is surrounded by residential neighbourhoods. These homes are now encroaching upon the park’s boundaries. And so leopards roam through these residential areas at night, passing buildings and crossing though parking lots. Attacks on dogs are common but these animals also pose a threat to humans. Ranjeet Jhadav has been tracking predatory cats in the park since 2014. Tie them up over there! Ranjeet is a wildlife photographer. So the photos’ll be perfect. His pictures are seen around the world. He and his team go through the recording taken by this camera trap This is a leopard cub. A female. Go on, go on... stop ! The footage reveals just how brazenly leopards wander through the community. We filmed people walking right where a leopard had been just a few minutes ago. They had no idea. These leopards prowl around these neighbourhoods, igniting fears among locals. The Aarey Colony neighbourhood is located right next to the park. Here, a family of six lives in constant fear. Krupa Thukar works in the forestry office. Come here, I need to talk to you guys. Kids, I have to tell you something very important. When it gets dark, you can’t go outside to play, especially you little ones. But things don’t always go as planned. You can tell your kids hundreds of times not to play outside. Sometimes they won't listen. I keep telling my kids, but they don't listen. The city government should install streetlights to keep the leopards away at night. The streetlights also have to work. We’ve already been telling you, for a month and a half, that we have seen a leopard in this area. And so far nothing’s been done. Her colleague tries to calm him down We will definitely take care of the street lighting issue. But you’ll need to take care of things on your end too. Especially if there are no lamps, the children have to come home by nightfall. Residents prefer a more radical approach. You have to put these animals in cages! Do you want to wait until one of these leopards attacks a kid before you do something? But if we lock up the leopards, it doesn't mean that others won’t come. The city is ordered to set up a special unit to take care of the predatory cats. After this bend up ahead, we hit the slum. Concerned residents have called in Operations Manager Santosh Bhangne. They roam around and attack dogs. Up ahead, a little further. The group approaches with caution. If you move your torch, you’ll see the eyes flash quickly. Hold them a little higher. Those aren’t dogs. Back there? Those are dogs, but the eyes behind them, those are leopards. Despite the danger, they encounter a man. Why are you walking alone in the dark? If you’re out at night, you should always have a stick with you. I usually get off work between 10pm and midnight. Of course I get scared when I’m walking. But I don't have any other choice. You have to make some noise, then the leopards run away. After a few minutes, the silence returns. Leopards hunt animals that are smaller than them, like dogs. They are usually harmless to us. Especially adults. The ranger’s presence seems to have driven the leopards away. They’re dogs. So keep going! Despite increased security measures, leopards killed 159 people in the state of Maharashtra in 2020. A record number. This is how Muthuvel and his wife lost their four-year-old daughter. This is right where it happened. This is where the leopard dragged our daughter up the hill with him. Darshani had been playing in the dark in front of the family's house. Her parents found her remains just 10 days later. We found parts of our daughter’s body, her hands, and her legs. We also found her head. She was wearing nail polish. That's how we identified our daughter. If a dog barks, I immediately panic and close the doors. A leopard is just an animal. But she was our daughter! That leopard is still out there. Muthuvel has lived in a constant state of fear ever since. If a dog barks, I immediately panic, close the doors and don't let anyone out. The family is still devastated Of course, a leopard is just trying to survive. It’s an animal. But she was our daughter! There is a sanctuary for leopards in the middle of Sanjay Gandhi Park It looks like the cage is not fully closed, but everything’s OK. Mukesh More looks after the 15 leopards captured by his team. Each of those animals attacked a human. They caught the leopard in this cage in Nashik because it attacked people. Then brought him to our facility. All of them killed children? Yes, they did. An adult leopard weighs only about 60 kilos, but it is an excellent hunter and can easily take down prey weighing up to 150 kilos. Near the city, it hunts mainly livestock or domestic animals Mukesh More attributes these attacks to the region’s rapid urbanization. A lot of people can get hurt in these clashes with wild animals. All of this used to covered by dense jungle. We should not be invading their habitat. In Mumbai, this conflict is coming to a head. The wild animals are adapting to their new reality. Their numbers are on the rise. It is impossible to stop Mumbai from expanding so rapidly. Experts project that it will become the most populous city in the world by 2050- with a population of 40 million.
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Channel: DW Documentary
Views: 4,686,768
Rating: undefined out of 5
Keywords: Documentary, Documentaries, documentaries, DW documentary, full documentary, DW, documentary 2021, megacity, urban development, gentrification, displacement, real estate market, urban planning, Mumbai, India
Id: 8UbKpTwGuSs
Channel Id: undefined
Length: 41min 56sec (2516 seconds)
Published: Sat Jan 29 2022
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