High Rises Buildings Go up in Mumbai's Old Tenement Neighborhood
2022-04-03
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1For Shailesh Kambli, a childhood dream is about to become reality.
2The 40-year-old Indian man lives in a 15-square-meter, one-room home in India's financial capital, Mumbai.
3It would not be too small -- if he lived alone.
4But Kambli's parents, brother and his brother's wife all live there, too.
5Kambli represents the third generation of his family to live in the small, crowded home contained in an old building in much disrepair.
6He said he always dreamed of living in a modern building.
7"Whenever I went out, I wanted to own a house, however tiny, in one these buildings," Kambli recalls.
8"I even told my uncle that one day I will live in such a place."
9Thousands of other Indian families live in similar spaces in an area of Mumbai called BDD Chawls.
10The 37-hectare area is dense with people and with tenements that were built about one hundred years ago.
11Real estate in the area, however, is among the costliest in the world.
12All around the BDD Chawls, business and residential development has expanded quickly in recent years.
13Mumbai is home to more than 20 million people.
14Now, Kambli and others dreaming of new, better homes have a chance to see that dream come true.
15Under a massive $2 billion redevelopment project, the 16,000 tenements like the one Kambli lives in will be destroyed and replaced with modern, high-rise buildings.
16The project is part of major plans that Mumbai has long sought with limited success:
17to clear costly land of old, damaged buildings and replace them with tall buildings that include homes, offices and large market centers.
18Some city planners, however, have raised concerns about the project and the pressure it could add to the city's weak infrastructure.
19Britain built the BDD Chawls during its colonial rule of India.
20It needed the rooms to house migrant cotton mill workers.
21Inside most homes, a large cloth piece separates the counter at one end that serves as a kitchen from the rest of the space that serves as both a bedroom and a living room.
22Televisions are put over the bed or in a corner.
23Two bathrooms serve 20 rooms.
24The occupants pay the government a small amount every month for the homes.
25Older people often spend their day in the long passageway that leads to the rooms or just outside on the grounds.
26They hang their wash to dry, or look after children when their parents go to work.
27There is a sense of community in the tenements, some residents say.
28Lately, some residents have been visiting a model home in a nearby building to get an idea of what the future may look like for them.
29"I don't know when my turn will come. It may still take years," said 55-year-old Bhagwan Sawant.
30He pointed to the kitchen and other parts of the model home.
31"It will be great to have a modern" home, he said.
32The new complexes will also have a hospital, schools, and activity centers for sports.
33"The work has started on the first building and it will be ready in three years," said Prashant Dhatrak, the top engineer of the project.
34"But the entire development will take seven years."
35It took more than 20 years to launch the project after it was first proposed.
36Some experts are warning that the huge project is moving too fast.
37"Redevelopment is necessary, but rebuilding has to be done in a sustainable and environmentally friendly manner," said Sulakshana Mahajan.
38She was a member of the former Mumbai Transformation Support Unit, a state government policy group set up in 2005.
39It was involved in earlier proposals for the redevelopment of the tenements and shut down in 2019.
40She said the early plans did not aim to increase density but to better house the existing residents.
41That is no longer the case, she said.
42"Open spaces available per person will be drastically shrunk and distance between buildings is too little." Mahajan said.
43She argued that the project could create too much demand on city services such as water supply, waste removal and transportation.
44In the BDD Chawls, most residents are more happy about the project than they are worried about it.
45There is a growing sense, however, that the redevelopment will end the communal way of life they have now.
46"Here, I never have to worry about my mother. All of us work, but know that someone will look after her if she is unwell," said Kambli.
47But, when they close the door of their new home, he added, "no one will know what is happening inside."
48Nearby, resident Ranjana Gurav laughs.
49"You just give one shout here and everyone gathers," she said.
50"When there are marriages or celebrations or a problem, we are all there to help each other."
51I'm Caty Weaver. I'm Dan Novak.
1For Shailesh Kambli, a childhood dream is about to become reality. The 40-year-old Indian man lives in a 15-square-meter, one-room home in India's financial capital, Mumbai. It would not be too small -- if he lived alone. 2But Kambli's parents, brother and his brother's wife all live there, too. Kambli represents the third generation of his family to live in the small, crowded home contained in an old building in much disrepair. 3He said he always dreamed of living in a modern building. 4"Whenever I went out, I wanted to own a house, however tiny, in one these buildings," Kambli recalls. "I even told my uncle that one day I will live in such a place." 5Land far more valuable than buildings 6Thousands of other Indian families live in similar spaces in an area of Mumbai called BDD Chawls. The 37-hectare area is dense with people and with tenements that were built about one hundred years ago. 7Real estate in the area, however, is among the costliest in the world. 8All around the BDD Chawls, business and residential development has expanded quickly in recent years. Mumbai is home to more than 20 million people. 9Now, Kambli and others dreaming of new, better homes have a chance to see that dream come true. 10Under a massive $2 billion redevelopment project, the 16,000 tenements like the one Kambli lives in will be destroyed and replaced with modern, high-rise buildings. 11The project is part of major plans that Mumbai has long sought with limited success: to clear costly land of old, damaged buildings and replace them with tall buildings that include homes, offices and large market centers. 12Some city planners, however, have raised concerns about the project and the pressure it could add to the city's weak infrastructure. 13BDD built before India's independence 14Britain built the BDD Chawls during its colonial rule of India. It needed the rooms to house migrant cotton mill workers. 15Inside most homes, a large cloth piece separates the counter at one end that serves as a kitchen from the rest of the space that serves as both a bedroom and a living room. Televisions are put over the bed or in a corner. Two bathrooms serve 20 rooms. The occupants pay the government a small amount every month for the homes. 16Older people often spend their day in the long passageway that leads to the rooms or just outside on the grounds. They hang their wash to dry, or look after children when their parents go to work. There is a sense of community in the tenements, some residents say. 17Lately, some residents have been visiting a model home in a nearby building to get an idea of what the future may look like for them. 18"I don't know when my turn will come. It may still take years," said 55-year-old Bhagwan Sawant. He pointed to the kitchen and other parts of the model home. "It will be great to have a modern" home, he said. 19The new complexes will also have a hospital, schools, and activity centers for sports. "The work has started on the first building and it will be ready in three years," said Prashant Dhatrak, the top engineer of the project. "But the entire development will take seven years." 20It took more than 20 years to launch the project after it was first proposed. Some experts are warning that the huge project is moving too fast. 21More private space, less community? 22"Redevelopment is necessary, but rebuilding has to be done in a sustainable and environmentally friendly manner," said Sulakshana Mahajan. She was a member of the former Mumbai Transformation Support Unit, a state government policy group set up in 2005. It was involved in earlier proposals for the redevelopment of the tenements and shut down in 2019. 23She said the early plans did not aim to increase density but to better house the existing residents. That is no longer the case, she said. 24"Open spaces available per person will be drastically shrunk and distance between buildings is too little." Mahajan said. She argued that the project could create too much demand on city services such as water supply, waste removal and transportation. 25In the BDD Chawls, most residents are more happy about the project than they are worried about it. There is a growing sense, however, that the redevelopment will end the communal way of life they have now. 26"Here, I never have to worry about my mother. All of us work, but know that someone will look after her if she is unwell," said Kambli. But, when they close the door of their new home, he added, "no one will know what is happening inside." 27Nearby, resident Ranjana Gurav laughs. "You just give one shout here and everyone gathers," she said. "When there are marriages or celebrations or a problem, we are all there to help each other." 28I'm Caty Weaver. I'm Dan Novak. 29Anjana Pasricha reported this story for VOA News. Caty Weaver adapted it for Learning English. 30Write to us in the Comments Section or visit us on Facebook 31_______________________________________________________________ 32Words in This Story 33tiny -adj. very small 34residential-adj. of or relating to a place where people live 35tenement -n. a building divided into separate apartments for rent 36real estate -n. property in buildings and land 37infrastructure -n. the system of public works of a country, state, or region 38sustainable -adj. of, relating to, or being a method of harvesting or using a resource so that the resource is not used up or permanently damaged 39drastically -adv. severely or seriously