Friday, October 14, 2011

HISTORY OF DHARAVI


Dharavi, spread over 540 acres of land and around 70,000 households, is the biggest slum in Asia. The history of Dharavi dates back to the pre-independence period. As per the records, the earliest colony of fishermen in the area known as Dharavi today was set up way back in 1910.
Dharavi is located in Sion, also its old  name is  sheev.  The  translation of this Marathi word is ‘Border’. Historically, the Dharavi slum was set up outside the city because as per the prevalent social norms of that time, people involved in occupations such as leather, pottery and fishing were considered of lower caste and their place was outside the village.so they are live in city as 'Gavkusa bahercha jina.
In 1912, Mumbai was developing, and a port and sea-route was the only convenient itinerary to reach Mumbai from Gujarat. Around 150-200 potter families used to come from Saurashtra via the sea route to Mumbai for eight months a year. The soil around the Dharavi area was perfect for their business. These families used to live in small huts made of coconut tree leaves. In 1932, all these huts were burned in an inferno, after which the trader community in Mumbai helped these potter families with money, food and shelter.
 After this, these 200 families were settled permanently in Dharavi and started their small-scale business of producing earthen pots, diyas, murals etc. Now, around 385 families work in Kumbharwada. Kumbharwada produces around 70% of the earthen pots and diyas sold in Mumbai. The 13 acres of land provide employment to 2,000 workers.