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Over an extended period, coercive phone calls recurred. At first, supposedly from an ex-law enforcement official and a former defense officer, and then from law enforcement directly. In the end, a local artisan states he was called to law enforcement headquarters and warned explicitly: remain silent or encounter real trouble.

Shaikh is part of a group fighting a expensive project where one of India's largest slums – a massive informal community with rich history – is scheduled to be bulldozed and transformed by a multinational conglomerate.

"The distinctive community of Dharavi is exceptional in the globe," says Shaikh. "But their intention is to eradicate our social fabric and stop us speaking out."

Dual Worlds

The narrow alleys of this community present a dramatic difference to the towering buildings and elite residences that dominate the area. Homes are constructed informally and frequently missing basic amenities, informal businesses emit toxic smoke and the air is filled with the overpowering odor of uncovered waste channels.

Among some individuals, the prospect of Dharavi transformed into a modern district of luxury high-rises, organized recreational areas, contemporary malls and residences with two toilets is an aspirational dream come true.

"There's no sufficient health services, proper streets or sewage systems and we have no places for youth to recreate," says a tea vendor, in his fifties, who relocated from southern India in that period. "The only way is to tear it all down and build us new homes."

Resident Opposition

However, some, like Shaikh, are resisting the redevelopment.

All recognize that the slum, historically ignored as an illegal encroachment, is in stark need economic input and modernization. Yet they fear that this plan – without public consultation – might transform a piece of prime Mumbai real estate into a playground for the rich, displacing the disadvantaged, migrant communities who have been there since the late 1800s.

It was these marginalized, migrant workers who built up the vacant wetlands into a frequently examined example of community resilience and commercial output, whose production is valued at between a significant amount and a substantial sum a year, making it a major unofficial markets.

Relocation Worries

Of the roughly 1 million residents living in the packed 2.2 square kilometer zone, a minority will be eligible for alternative accommodation in the project, which is expected to take seven years to complete. The remainder will be transferred to barren areas and coastal regions on the distant periphery of the city, risking fragment a long-established social network. A portion will not get residences at all.

Residents permitted to remain in the area will be given units in tower blocks, a substantial change from the organic, shared lifestyle of residing and operating that has maintained Dharavi for generations.

Industries from garment work to clay work and material recovery are expected to decrease in quantity and be relocated to a designated "business area" distant from homes.

Existential Threat

For residents like Shaikh, a workshop owner and long-time resident to call home Dharavi, the project presents an existential threat. His informal, three-floor workshop makes garments – tailored coats, suede trenches, studded bomber jackets – distributed in luxury boutiques in the city's affluent areas and internationally.

Household members lives in the spaces underneath and employees and sewers – migrants from other states – reside there, enabling him to sustain operations. Outside Dharavi's enclave, accommodation prices are frequently 10 times more expensive for minimal space.

Threats and Warning

In the official facilities nearby, a visual representation of the redevelopment plan illustrates a contrasting outlook. Well-groomed inhabitants mill about on bicycles and e-vehicles, purchasing western-style bread and breakfast items and socializing on an outdoor area outside a restaurant and treat station. It is a stark contrast from the 20-rupee idli sambar morning meal and 5-rupee chai that maintains Dharavi's community.

"This represents no improvement for our community," says the protester. "This constitutes a huge real estate deal that will price people out for residents to remain."

There is also distrust of the development company. Managed by a powerful tycoon – among the country's wealthiest and a close ally of the Indian prime minister – the corporation has faced accusations of favoritism and financial impropriety, which it disputes.

Even as the state government calls it a collaborative effort, the corporation invested $950m for its controlling interest. A case claiming that the initiative was questionably assigned to the business group is being considered in India's supreme court.

Continued Intimidation

After they started to actively protest the development, protesters and community members assert they have been experienced a long-running campaign of coercion and warning – involving phone calls, direct threats and suggestions that opposing the initiative was comparable with speaking against the country – by individuals they claim work for the corporate group.

Part of the group suspected of making intimidations is {a retired police officer|a former law enforcement official|an ex-c