DHARAVI, ASIA'S LARGEST SLUM

Humans of 21st century are in the most evolved and flourishing times than ever. Their per capita income has been raised than ever before. This has increased our "want"even without any "need". There is a slight difference between want and need which we forget everyday. When simple wall paints make us bored we switch to plaster paints ,when normal soaps get old just to change the taste,we switch to body wash, when combs get old fashioned we switch to hair brushes, when mother's home cooked food becomes a daily routine we switch to pizzas and many more which we hardly realize. Unfortunately this picture of human race is not like a fairy tale as it seems. Here in our own country we have 1.2 million people living in tiny place of Dharavi in small,rusty,tin sheds with water clogging and persistent disease recording 4000 cases every day. Their works are exported to foreign countries and still they earn mere .8 p of daily wage in general. 

Now imagine the stress on this slum when it comes to social distancing amidst the pandemic. Social distancing is the most difficult dare for them where one cannot walk even a minute without touching each others shoulder.Here 270,000 people are living in a per square kilometer area. This lockdown has put panic and mental stress among all sections of the society but their pain is the biggest among all. They not only have to face economic stress but also have to face the impossibilty of escaping from the outbreak. A total of 50 new Covid-19 cases were detected in Dharavi on Thursday after which the total number of cases in the slum area rose to 783. Its difficult to control and trace the chain of virus spread. If advanced countries like Italy with such low population density has huge pressure,it will be hard to imagine the level of escalation of this pandemic in a cozy area like Dharavi. Its high time that the authorities realize the delicate nature and act before an endemic escalates out of the pandemic in Dharavi.

So what is the demand of the time? Definitely people like us can only ponder over and do nothing except sympathize with them . Plus currently no social firm or NGO is directly working for Dharavi so contributions will not reach them directly. But at this verge of time when nothing seems perfect, when there is no clearity of future, when hopes are blurr, every act of love and care counts as a race. The next time you cry for "hav not's" rather than feeling happy for "all the hav's" do think about a child living in dharavi..may be this won't help the child but will definitely help you to come out of your fancy world and make this world a better place. 

"Apna gham le ke kahin aur na jaaya  jaaye
Ghar mein bikhri hui cheezon ko sajaaya jaaye

Ghar se masjid hai bahut door chalo yun kar le
Kisi rote huye bachche ko hansaya jaaye"

-NIDA FAZLI