General Awareness Updates – October 2009

Places in News

Dharavi, which is in the heart of India’s financial capital Mumbai, is not the largest slum in Asia as many believe, according to the UNDP. It has grabbed global attention after Danny Boyle’s film, ‘Slumdog Millionaire’. “Dharavi is not Asia’s largest slum, but Karachi’s Orangi Township has surpassed Dharavi,” the Human Development Report for Mumbai, compiled with the help of UNDP and released by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), said.

Mexico City’s Neza-Chalco-Itza barrio has four times as many people as Dharavi, it said. Dharavi, a congested slum area that houses nearly 57,000 families, also houses thousands of manufacturing units, all of which add to several risks including fire and health, the report said. Dharavi, often associated with crime, filth and environmental degradation mainly due to congestion, bad constructions, unauthorised trades and overpopulation, covers parts of suburban Sion, Bandra, Kurla and Kalina and is spread across 175 hectares.