No new cases in Dharavi for first time since April

Mumbai: Dharavi, Asia’s largest slum, reported no Covid-19 positive case on Friday, the first ward in Mumbai to achieve this milestone even as numbers in the rest of the city showed an uptick. Dharavi has managed this feat despite the return of migrants which authorities feared would lead to a spike in infections.

The Dharavi ‘model’ - following most of the instructions of WHO with regard to the management of the pandemic - also added its own touch by arranging quarantine facilities to those with mild symptoms and their close contacts.

This later became a game changer for the area where social distancing is impossible because of the living conditions. In Dharavi, the average home size is a 10 by 10 hutment with 8-10 people in each household and 80% of its population depend on community toilets. Since it is also a hub of smallscale industries and migrant population, most people in the area depend on outside food.


“It is the result of 4Ts - Tracing (screening), Testing, Tracking and Treatment and active community engagement at each level,” Kiran Digvikar, assistant commissioner - GN Ward (the ward under which Dharavi falls) told ET.