Tension in Mumbai’s Dharavi amid BMC’s move to raze ‘illegal’ portion of mosque

Tensions rose among locals in Mumbai’s Dharavi slum on Saturday after the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) planned to demolish an alleged illegal section of a mosque in the area.
A large group of residents gathered on the road to protest the BMC’s actions, prompting a significant police presence to manage the crowd and prevent any disturbances amid the escalating situation, news agency PTI reported.
“A team of BMC officials from the G-North administrative ward arrived at 90 Feet Road in Dharavi around 9 am to demolish an alleged illegal section of the Mehboob-E-Subhani mosque. Shortly after, a large group of local residents gathered and blocked the civic officials from entering the lane where the mosque is situated,” a police official was quoted as saying by PTI.
“Later, hundreds of people also gathered outside the nearby Dharavi police station and sat on the road in protest against the civic body’s action,” he added.
In a video shared by PTI, Dharavi residents were seen assembling on the road, sitting in protest against the BMC officials who came to demolish part of the mosque in the area.
A heavy police ‘bandobast’ has been deployed, and the situation is currently under control, according to officials.
Authorities deployed heavy police forces to prevent any incidents.
A delegation from the mosque, along with BMC officials and Dharavi police, is actively engaged in talks to find a resolution. Dharavi, known as Asia’s largest slum, is a densely populated area.
Dharavi is undergoing redevelopment by Adani Realty through its DRPPL initiative. The company secured the bid to transform the slum cluster, which spans 240 hectares of valuable land in the city’s center, in November 2022.
The state government is currently conducting a door-to-door survey to assess which of Dharavi’s 310,000 tenements and their residents qualify for free housing.
HT has learned that a six-acre site in Matunga, where a modest groundbreaking ceremony took place on September 12, will be designated for housing hundreds of residents deemed eligible for free accommodations.
While the state housing department has proposed various locations such as Mulund, Kurla, Dahisar, Wadala, and Deonar for resident relocation, no final decision has been made due to protests from residents in these areas.