Thursday, January 21 on 4
This Dispatches Special , screening as part of Channel 4's Indian Winter season, reveals the brutal reality of life on the streets and in the slums of Mumbai, following the daily struggles of four young children to survive over the course of three months and throughout the treacherous monsoon season. Dispatches provides a deeply moving portrait of the lives of India's real slumdogs, blighted by substance abuse, hardship and heartache, yet proof of the infinite resilience of children, and forced to reach adulthood long before they should.
Shiv
Mumbai Government and partners are sitting with $2 Billion in hand to develop Dharavi and provide free housing and preferential employment opportunities to the slum residents. But vested interests (people who hold larger area) and illegal Bangladeshi immigrants and vote bank politics has led to court battles and stay orders. And please dont judge according to the failure of social housing in UK. Half of Mumbai lives in high rise apartments and they have as much community cohesion and happiness as anyone else in India. Mumbai is more expensive inch per inch than London and it does not need pity money from anyone to develop 1 square mile and 1 million residents. The real problem is of legal issues and vested interest and not of money or poverty, but these documentaries dont tell you this, because misery sells,truth doesn't. India is far more vibrant and capable than these one dimensional agenda driven documentaries project. India has problems of a developing country, just as there are homeless people and binge drinking problems in UK. If west is really concerned it should provide level playing field and not strangle developing countries through IMF and world Bank. India has and can stand on itself against all odds and does not need anyone's pity money to helpitself.Thanks but no Thanks.