Dharavi residents stage anti-govt protest

Dharavi residents protested against the non-implementation of the Dharavi Redevelopment Project (DRP) with a day-long fast near T-Junction.

They demanded the restoration of the original five-sector plan and scrapping of the Mhada contract.

The protest comes after DNA’s 11-part series showing why Dharavi was never redeveloped. The DNA investigation made it clear how vested interest of two NGOs, inefficiency of two chief ministers and ego of a bureaucrat killed the project.

The fast  — there were more than 1,000 participants — was organised by the Rajiv Gandhi Cooperative Housing Federation and the Jan Kalyan Vikas Nirman Samiti.

Hoping to spread awareness among the locals, the organisers distributed 20,000 pamphlets that contained a gist of the DNA stories. “Wake up, people of Dharavi,” the pamphlets read.

Eknath Gaikwad, the MP from the area, visited the protestors. Expressing his displeasure over chief minister Prithviraj Chavan’s decision of appointing Mhada as the nodal agency for developing sector 5, he gave an assurance of trying to convince the CM to meet the people before going ahead, so that the development takes place with their consent. South central district president Hukumraj Mehta echoed Gaikwad’s views, saying “Mhada won’t be able to undertake such a large project.”

Demanding that the government should hark back to the original five-sector DRP plan, Proud president Hariram Dilliwala said, “We do not want development under Mhada.”