Ambujwadi: A story of distress and civic apathy

Sorrow enveloped the neighbourhood last week when a father and his two sons became unconscious inhaling toxic fumes while cleaning the tank of a public toilet and subsequently died. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg

MUMBAI: In the far end of Malvani, Malad, is a hamlet called Ambujwadi – spread over 35 acres and home to 58,000 people – which upholds the story of neglect. It has brought focus on itself in the past for frequent demolitions – a massive one carried out in 2005.

In Ambujwadi, residents of New Bhabrekar Nagar and Patra Chawl are the more fortunate as these slums are notified, facilitating Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) services. Elsewhere, even the portion where the early Pardhi settlers lived, called Laxmi Chawl, is illegal. (Satish Bate/ HT Photo)

Last week, sorrow enveloped the neighbourhood once again when a father and his two sons became unconscious inhaling toxic fumes while cleaning the tank of a public toilet and subsequently died. The neighbourhood stands on a history of struggle.

Search for home

The area was once covered with mangroves and mudflats bordering the creek. The first settlers were the Pardhi tribe who came here in the 1970s, still bearing the stigma of ‘criminals’ branded by the British. According to records with YUVA, an NGO that works to enable the urban poor to achieve their social and economic entitlements, the next batch of settlers landed here in 1997, after large-scale demolitions in the Old Bhabrekar Nagar, Charkop. Of the 10,000 to 15,000 houses razed in this suburb, residents of a select 728 were sent here by government officials, and told to claim 10x15 feet spots each. This part of Ambujwadi became the New Bhabrekar Nagar.

In the years that followed the neighbourhood burgeoned with new arrivals -- victims of demolitions or financial hardships in their respective villages. But their desire for stability was short-lived.

“In 2005, the authorities bulldozed the entire area except New Bhabrekar Nagar to clear encroachers. They put up a wire fence and posted watchmen to stand guard, ensuring no one could return,” said Shahensha Ansari, senior community organiser of YUVA, who was a child at the time, and remembers being shooed away from the play area on before it was cordoned off.

But the residents would not let go easily. “We protested continuously for 40 days at Azad Nagar, under the leadership of Medha Patkar. We were even sent to jail for it,” said Zaitunisa a resident, recalling women with babies in their arms being rounded up. The demolitions here coincided with others across the city, and the backlash was strong. “Finally, we won. We walked up to the fence, cut it and claimed our spaces.”

This bolstered the spirit of others who wished to make this space their home.

“In the beginning, my house was made of jute sacks, which was gradually replaced by metal sheets, till we could construct the cement and brick structure it is now,” said Zaitunisa.

Demolition drives continue here – a few 100 meters from where Zaitunisa lives, are remnants of a drive carried out by the collector less than a year ago, when an orange alert was sounded in the thick of monsoons.

People scoop up the pieces and carry on. Shama and Safiullah Sheikh’s home for instance was built on the rubble. “After our homes were razed and belongings lost in June and July, it took us almost two months to remake what we built over 10 years. But we couldn’t afford to lay a proper floor. We have only a roof propped up by scaffolding,” said Shama.

This and many such houses are of fragile built – put together with bamboo sticks, tin, plastic sheets and cardboard. Sometimes a wooden box with a blanket over it acts as the bed. A small enclosure in a corner, with a tin sheet acting as partition, acts as the bathroom.

“This house is not fit to live in. But we have no choice, and the threat of more demolitions stops us from properly rebuilding,” said Shama, whose two children, aged 16 and 9, have shifted to a relative’s home.

Living amid filth

In Ambujwadi, residents of New Bhabrekar Nagar and Patra Chawl are the more fortunate as these slums are notified, facilitating Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) services. Elsewhere, even the portion where the early Pardhi settlers lived, called Laxmi Chawl, is illegal.

“Last September, when we went to the assistant commissioner of the P North ward, Kiran Dighavkar, with the findings of our year-long survey, he told us BMC can’t change much, as this is collector’s land,” said Shahensha Ansari. “BMC is only responsible for two things: sanitation, including toilets, garbage and water.”

When HT reached out to Dighavkar, he said despite the status of the land, BMC was providing water and collecting garbage. The ground reality projects a different image though. There are 19 public toilets in the area, of which only 15 are operational, where complaints of uncleanliness, unsanitary conditions, broken seats and doors are common. At any given point there is a long queue outside the toilets. Two newly constructed facilities are yet to be opened for public use.

The bigger problem in Ambujwadi is lack of sewage system. YUVA’s survey in 2022-23 revealed that the entire area is dependent on septic tanks, which are not emptied or cleaned regularly, leading to overflowing and polluting the area nearby.

In the innards of the slums, said Ansari, the filthy overflow merges into the storm water drains. From the septic tanks on the outskirts which border the mangroves and mudflats, the overflow is directed into the wild, which makes the area disease-prone.

Ansari refuted Dighavkar’s claims of regular garbage collection pointing to heaps of waste along the outskirts by the mangroves. The dump is set aflame which leads to stench and smoke filling the air. The condition worsens during monsoons.

“You wouldn’t be able to walk up to here in the rain without being half soaked,” said Zaitunisa. Her neighbour added, “And if you fall, you’ll be smeared in mud and become unrecognisable.”

To avoid the flow of filth into their homes many like Zaitunisa have raised their boundary walls. Many households have built septic tanks inside their homes. “The common technique is digging one with a stack of iron rings. As they are huge and used only by households, they take years before they need to be cleaned. Then the families either use acid to clean up or dig another one next to it,” said Ansari.

Clean water is also hard to come by. Five households share one public tap, many extending connections into their homes. Drinking water is priced at ₹50 per can sold at nakas.

“We extend the basic services on humanitarian grounds. There has been an influx of people over time, putting gaps in our services. It’s a Catch-22 situation,” said Dighavkar. “Most are illegal settlers who came here after 2000.”