Mumbai, Feb 15 (IANS): Thousands of residents from Dharavi took to the streets on Saturday, staging demonstrations and protests over the unhygienic and pitiable situation in the city’s densely populated slum.

The protesters voiced their concerns over scarcity of clean water, poor sanitation and the unhygienic conditions in Asia’s largest slum and also engaged in sloganeering against the local public representative Varsha Eknath Gaikwad.

They blamed Congress leader Varsha Eknath Gaikwad, representing Mumbai North-Central constituency, for poor living conditions in the area and demanded that the administration addresses their problems urgently.

The locals protested for hours, expressing anger over ignorance of their region and warned of intensifying the stir if their demand goes unheard. They also raised slogans like “Varsha Gaikwad... Hai Tauba".

The residents of Dharavi, long plagued by issues such as overflowing toilets, filthy streets, and contaminated water stood united in their demands for change. The demonstration saw more than 5,000 residents hitting the streets.

The protesters made it clear that they are not aligned with any political party and their stir is centred around a single cause — securing basic development and a better quality of life for the people of Dharavi.

One protester said, "We challenge Varsha Gaikwad or any of her family members to spend a month in Dharavi’s slums. If they oppose development after that, we will accept their stance. But if they continue to allow us to live in these horrible conditions while they enjoy luxury, we will take to the streets again."

Another woman added, "The situation here is so bad that I can’t even let my children out after 8 pm. If development happens, our children will be safer."

A third protester called for a thorough investigation into the ongoing surveys in the area, saying, “If anyone tries to stop the survey, the police should act immediately and send them to jail."

Social activist Sujit Gupta, who was also present at the rally, stated, “Today, more than 5,000 voices are united, demanding that the survey be completed quickly and that development work begins without further delay. If there is any opposition, the entire Dharavi will stand against it.”

Nilofer, another resident voiced similar concerns and said, “Only politicians are opposing development. They protest because they stand to benefit from it. If they want to protest, they should come and live with us in these filthy conditions.”

A resident also pointed to Adani and said, “The development can be done in the slums only by Adani, no other entity has the guts to take this task.”

With the Dharavi slum-dwellers coming together to raise their voice unitedly, this is expected to give strength to their demands.