The Dharavi Way

They are known as poor, weak, and powerless. Yet, the entire world is saluting eight lakh-odd Dharavi residents for their achievements in fighting against Covid-19. “Dharavi should be seen as an example across the world,” opined World Health Organisation’s (WHO) chief Dr. Tedros Adhanom. There were apprehensions of community spread when the first corona case was reported from Asia’s biggest slum on April1, 2020. But with exemplary discipline and courage Dharavi residents have proved everyone wrong. In May 2020, a total of 1216 Covid-19 cases were reported from Dharavi. Out of which 56 people succumbed to this lethal virus. The situation was not very different in June too as on an average 18 new Covid-19 cases were being reported daily. But the month of July has changed everything. The infection curve has flattened considerably and till July 10 in total there are 2359 cases in the area and 1952 persons have recovered completely. More important than mere statistics is the fact that Dharavi provides hopes to other parts of the world that not everything is lost. If we remain cautious and follow the safety norms strictly, sooner than later the world will emerge victorious in its fight against this lethal virus.

What was Dharavi’s mantra behind such a massive success? How did the people manage to prevent the threat of community spread which even the most developed nations of the world could not achieve? How did the residents of the densely populated slum, where 80 per cent of the populace are dependent on community toilets, manage to rewrite history? All these became possible as from day one the Dharavi residents were determined not to hand over a win to the pandemic without a fight. The record book says that every time an epidemic of pandemic had hit Mumbai, Dharavi had been worst-affected, including the Plague pandemic in 1896. So, this time as soon as the first corona case was reported, all shops including the tea and pan shops inside the 2.16 square kilometer area of the slum were closed to prevent people from assembling in these places. Small groups were created to strictly enforce the lockdown. The residents did not complain about strict enforcement of norms despite most of them being daily wage workers. They survived in whatever manner possible. But they never did anything to dilute the lockdown. For them, it was a battle for life and they fought it with honesty, sincerity and courage.

It would feel better if we could utter the same words for the rest of the country too. But, it’s a pity that today Dharavi stands as an oasis in the country. Among the Indian states, Maharashtra is the worst-affected in India. Despite being the economic capital and the habitat of India’s wealthiest persons, Mumbai is struggling hard to get rid of this deadly infection. Same is the scenario in all the major cities of the country. In most places, lockdown has been reinforced. Thus, WHO chief was right in saying that the poor, powerless, helpless and weak people of Dharavi have shown us the way and it is time now for us to emulate.