Dharavi

Dharavi is a residential area in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It has often been considered one of the world's largest slums. It has an area of just over 2.39 square kilometres (0.92 sq mi; 590 acres) and a population of about 1,000,000. With a population density of over 418,410/km2 (1,083,677/sq mi), it is one of the most densely populated areas in the world. The Dharavi slum was founded in 1884, during the British colonial era, and grew due to the expulsion of factories and residents from the peninsular city centre by the colonial government and the migration of rural Indians into urban Mumbai. For this reason, Dharavi is a highly diverse settlement, religiously and ethnically. Dharavi has an active informal economy, in which household enterprises employ slum residents—leather, textiles, and pottery products are among the goods produced there. The total annual turnover was estimated to be over US$1 billion in 2009. Dharavi has suffered from many epidemics and other disasters, including a widespread plague in 1896, which killed over half of the population of Mumbai. Sanitation in the slum remains poor.