Viewing slums as a blot on the city’s aesthetic, the district administration’s plan to rid the state capital of them cannot rely solely on housing rehabilitation, as these organic settlements serve a purpose that is integral to the urban character and way of life.
Gradually developed over the decades, the shanties in the state capital have grown into communities that serve the city by providing cost-efficient, labour-intensive services that have woven themselves into the urban economic lifestyle over time.
The Idgah slums—often referred to as the 'Pahadiya'—are one of many such settlements in the state capital. The rows of houses in the shanty belong to families that have only recently begun to taste the fruits of economic betterment after decades of penury.
The women here mostly work as housemaids and midwives, while the men are engaged in carpentry, laundry, and painting work. Some of the children go to school, while others have dropped out to contribute to the family kitty with their earnings as interns at automobile repair shops and other commercial establishments.
A bored old man sits behind a crusty counter selling tea, biscuits, and tobacco products. A grocery store sells small quantities of essential household supplies to customers who, in many cases, are too poor to buy weekly essentials all at once.
"Yahaan roz kamaane-khaane wale log hain (People here have to earn every day to eat)," says Daulat, who has run a laundry shop at one end of the shanty for several decades.
Residents say that most men here queue up at Labour Chowks or 'Peethas' at Shahjehanabad, Sindhi Colony, and Bhopal Talkies at the crack of dawn each morning in search of work. They are picked up by contractors and residents looking for daily wage earners for odd jobs.
Monsoons are bad for business, as carpentry, masonry, and painting jobs are difficult to come by. During the harsh city rains, these families fall back on the incomes of the womenfolk, which are sometimes augmented by the odd catch that the men bring home from fishing expeditions in the city lakes.
Once known as a bootleggers' haunt, the slum has changed over the decades, with families now focusing on education and economic progress. Brawls are a thing of the past, as a sense of camaraderie now pervades the area, with residents relying on each other for social and even economic support.
Residents say that they often work in collaboration, helping each other find work. This follows a tandem between the masons, carpenters, and painters, just as it does between housemaids and midwives.
When quizzed about administration plans to build modern housing projects for the rehabilitation of slum dwellers, residents at the informal settlement say that their lives are built around the area, which they rely on for livelihood and social support.
While admitting that they are too powerless to contest an administrative hustle, the slum dwellers say that the move to provide houses in exchange for their homes may not be the best of bargains for them.
The district administration is mulling plans to free the city of slums. Those advocating the move say that the tracts of land, freed of informal shanties, will be redeveloped to house swanky offices, glitzy plazas, and tony residential neighbourhoods, contributing much-needed revenue for the Bhopal Municipal Corporation (BMC) coffers.
Those shifting out of the shanties will be provided Slum Rehabilitation Housing (SRH) units under the Housing For All scheme. The administration is yet to outline measures to ensure the livelihood and social support aspects of the project.
