Mumbai slum-dwellers fear Dharavi redevelopment
Residents of Asia's most famous slum fear a multi-billion-dollar plan to transform the area into a Singapore-like enclave featuring luxury skyscrapers and shopping malls will destroy its vast informal economy. Indian authorities have asked a developer to tear down and rebuild Dharavi, a bustling settlement in Mumbai known as the backdrop for Danny Boyle's hit 2008 movie "Slumdog Millionaire". Supporters say the project will uplift hundreds of thousands of lives, but critics claim it will destroy Dharavi's social fabric and accuse officials of pandering to property developers. Dharavi is one of Asia's biggest slums. Estimates vary but between 700,000 and one million people cram into tiny homes on the 520-acre site; hundreds queue up to use public washrooms.
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