Mumbai: One of world’s largest slums, Dharavi, is leading a way in winning the coronavirus battle. Today, for the first time since the outbreak of Coronavirus pandemic, Dharavi reported zero positive cases.
The Mumbai slum reported its first case on April 1, sparking panic among officials. Dharavi is spread over 2.5 sq km and has a population of 2,27,136 per sq km, with people living in close quarters. When the first case was reported, the civic authority knew it wouldn’t be an easy task to contain the spread of the virus in Dharavi.
Social distancing was next to impossible in Dharavi, where families of eight to 10 people live in 10×10 hutments and residents have to walk along narrow lanes lined with crowded tenements on either side.
However, residents of Dharavi are known to have cooperated with the health officials who were responsible for containing the virus spread in the area.
In July, the World Health Organisation (WHO) had commended Dharavi for its efforts in containing the spread of Coronavirus. The local civic body had attributed the success to proactive screening with the assistance of private doctors and community support that helped in the fight against the disease.
Apart from the congested slum pockets, Dharavi, is also home to several small-scale leather, pottery and textile manufacturing units. The area has 5,000 GST-registered enterprises, 15,000 single-room factories and is a hub of international exports with an annual turnover of 1 billion USD.