Mumbai: Gritty women dressed in bright saris or salwars walking down narrow alleys, their faces painted with garish make-up, flowers in their hair. Lecherous men sizing them up from afar. Rows of colourful houses lining the streets, tiny rooms with neon lights, frumpled beds and pin-ups on faded walls. It is these scenes the mind conjures up at the mention of Kamathipura, infamously known as Mumbai’s red light district.
For decades, filmmakers have immortalised, even romanticised the neighbourhood, often in glossy packaging that softens a harsher reality. From Gangubai Kathiawadi, Chandni Bar and Salaam Bombay! to The Tattoo Murders series and Gujarati film Kamathipura, many directors have attempted to depict the brothel culture on screen.
Today, this imagery has shrunk to a tiny part of the Kamathipura neighbourhood as brothels have made way for shops, markets and recycled scrap outlets post the turn of the century. And soon, it may entirely vanish, as Kamathipura heads for redevelopment, with its crumbling low-storeyed chawls/buildings with tiny housing units set to make way for well-planned localities with high-rises.
The Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) has zeroed in on a developer, AATK Constructions, paving the way for a long-awaited transformation under the state’s cluster redevelopment scheme. But Kamathipura’s sex workers have been left out of the redevelopment blueprint. In fact, there are no plans for them as of now.
Most residents are unconcerned about their fate, focusing instead on how the area will soon become more “family-friendly”. Lata Tuma, who has lived here for three decades and is now in her 50s, is struggling to find a wife for her son. “Nobody wants to marry their daughter into Kamathipura,” she tells ThePrint. Tuma had no choice since her parents chose her husband, who lived in a 60-square-foot (sq ft) house in Kamathipura.
The redevelopment, she believes, will help rewrite the story of the neighbourhood.
Tuma, like many others, dreams of a bigger home. “My house is so small that even if you take two steps, you can cover the entire place. If anyone goes to the washroom, others have to wait outside. At a time, only two can have meals. Once done, two others are able to sit. It’s difficult to live like this.” The women, engaged in illicit sex trade in the locality, turned up one day without having any accommodation of their own, say social workers.
“Many of them come from outside to work, so they will not be considered eligible for housing,” says Rupa Metugu, president of NGO Asha Mahila Sanstha, speaking to ThePrint. “They (sex workers) are worried about where they will go from here. Some say they’ll return to their villages, but it’s not that easy,” says Rupa Metugu, president of Asha Mahila Sanstha, an NGO working in the area. “We plan to speak to the authorities about them.”
“Those who have [possession] documents to show, we will definitely accommodate them in a separate building,” a MHADA official tells ThePrint, but adds, “such women are very few.”
The tender for the redevelopment is now awaiting the nod of the state’s high power committee for cluster redevelopment. Then, it will be put up before the state cabinet for a final approval. “The discussions around this project were going on for a long time. But finally, the moment has arrived. It is an important project and a milestone for us as well,” said a senior official from MHADA. ThePrint reached MHADA CEO Sanjeev Jaiswal for comment but had not received a response by the time of publication.
Under the redevelopment project, the matchbox houses—currently 60 to 180 square feet—will be replaced by 500 sq ft, self-contained units in modern high-rises.
Also Read: Amid ‘fake voter’ row, Maharashtra EC moves ahead with civic polls, promises electoral roll cleanup
Sex work & opium trade
For nearly two decades, residents of the congested and decrepit neighbourhood have been waiting for redevelopment that could bring modern housing and amenities to their lives. The search for a developer to turn the area into a planned cluster has been ongoing since 2007.
But the project could not make headway due to bureaucratic red tape and its notoriety. Now seen as a microcosm of Mumbai’s working-class population, Kamathipura took shape in the late 18th century as Mumbai expanded into a British Colonial port.
The area was first settled by Telugu-speaking construction workers and artisans, known as ‘kamathis’, who migrated from Hyderabad. They were soon joined by a diverse mix of Marathi, Gujarati, and North Indian labourers, as well as Chinese dockyard workers and traders, creating a multi-cultural enclave. This concentration of migrant and dock workers and sailors created a demand for commercial sex work.
Under the British, the sex trade became structured. “Safed Gully” (White Lane) was named for its European sex workers, while those from East and South Asia lived in other lanes.
The area’s economy was charged by Bombay’s place in the British-controlled opium trade. Between the mid-1800s and early 1900s, vast opium wealth flowed into Kamathipura. It funded a vibrant, crowded underworld.
By the early 20th century, alcohol, music, ‘mujra’, and the fragrance of ‘mogra’ filled the air, drawing in more people, cementing Kamathipura’s reputation. Today, that once-flourishing sex trade is a shadow of its former self, struggling to survive in a few lanes.
A local survey has found that only 1,200 sex workers currently operate in the area.
“Kamathipura is still known as the ‘red light area’, for the sake of those times. It [sex trade] is now only in four lanes of Kamathipura. It has dwindled considerably. Only those who have been living here for many generations—only they have continued to live. And even they are looking into different trades now,” says a local activist, Kishorkumar Tiwari.
Among these residents of the area are some sex workers, now convinced that the next phase of their life, away from Kamathipura in their case, will be better.
“In the beginning, I tried to adjust to this life. I had no option, and the trade was booming then. But after so many years, I feel I am done. I have learned sewing machine techniques and, once they ask us to leave, I will go back to my village, where I have built a house with the money I’ve been sending. It feels strange, but since I have no documents, they will not accommodate me. I just hope my daughter’s education is completed,” says one of them.
Another woman from Kolkata shared a similar story, wiping away tears as she spoke to ThePrint. She has been in the area for 20 years and entered the profession to support her husband after he was paralysed in an accident. “I don’t want to blame anyone for my condition. I came here because of poverty and helplessness, but now I want to get out. I will return to my village and start tailoring work,” she says.
No plan for rehabilitation of sex workers
Most of Kamathipura’s sex workers do not possess any proper documentation or proof of residence and, hence, are ineligible for rehabilitation under the cluster redevelopment project.
Chaya Jagtap, who works for NGO Prerna, says a few of the women live with their children. But Jagtap insisted that the women are prepared to shift for Kamathipura’s redevelopment. “They have heard about this, but there are still a few years before the entire area is redeveloped. Once they are asked to leave, they will have to leave…. Since there is no legal right over the house, they will have to move out.”
But it is not as if they have an option.
Poverty forced Sunita to Kamathipura from Kolkata at the age of 12. Rajjo is from Uttar Pradesh, and she arrived in her teens. Both have young children and their education is the mothers’ focus.
“I have a six-year-old and a seven-year-old. If they throw us out, where will I go? If I buy a house on the outskirts, what job will I do? My children are young and studying here, so I don’t want to go back to my village. I’ve been hearing these redevelopment stories for the last 10 years. Nothing has happened so far. Let’s see; when it does, I’ll decide,” says Sunita.
For Rajjo, who has been here for eight years, returning to her village is not an option. “My parents or relatives will never accept me back. My door is shut. I can’t turn back. I will have to stay in Mumbai and find work, maybe in a beauty parlour, or as a tailor,” she says.
Also Read: Mumbai’s next planned infra boost: A 70-km tunnel network within the city to ease bottlenecks
Long wait for revamp
Congress MLA Amin Patel was among the first to push for the locality’s redevelopment in 2007, but developers were hesitant to come forward. Only DB Realty did, but soon, it faced financial constraints and backed out. And so, the project was put on the back burner, says Patel. “I have worked on this project for the last 14 years. Rigorously, daily, that is why we are seeing this day, today,” he adds.
Patel says when the Maha Vikas Aghadi government came to power, it made MHADA the nodal authority for the redevelopment work. However, the project moved slowly. Confusion persisted over whether the housing or urban development department would undertake it, Patel says.
When the Mahayuti government returned to power, it approved the redevelopment. But it was, once again, pushed to the back burner, only to be revived this year.
Sachin Karpe, treasurer of Vikas Samiti, a residents’ body advocating for the project, confirms it is finally off the drawing board, after “14 years of penance” by residents. “We first tried to go via private developers, but nobody was ready to touch the project,” he says. Moreover, the project was delayed by resolving competing claims of tenants and landowners and establishing clear titles for the largely inherited properties.
The MHADA official says convincing people of the cluster redevelopment was also a challenge. “Redevelopment, building by building, was not feasible in Kamathipura. This had to be done through cluster redevelopment. Besides, the issues of landowners and land titles were time-consuming to sort.”
‘No place to even turn in our sleep’
In Kamathipura, all buildings are a century old or older. Some have seen over 100 years. Nearly 8,000 residents live in them, according to the MHADA. Over 6,500 of them are resident-tenants. Over 1,300 are commercial tenants. The rest are landowners.
Kamathipura Vikas Samiti stresses that many people really wanted the redevelopment.
Sangeeta Gajelli, a 55-year-old woman born in the area, tells ThePrint that even her parents and in-laws were born in Kamathipura. Owner of a 120 sq ft house, she says, “We had been hearing about this redevelopment for years. It is said that the world functions on hope. We were hopeful that the redevelopment would happen someday. The area is good, so we didn’t leave it. Though people have given it a bad name, lotus blooms in the mud.”
Residents say there have even been cases of men from families sleeping on the road, as the houses are not large enough to accommodate all. “There is no space to even turn, in our sleep, without touching the person sleeping next to us,” says Tuma.
The buildings are also deteriorating with every monsoon. Leakage and slab collapses are commonplace.
Patel says that 99 percent of Kamathipura’s residents are now on board, while only a handful remain opposed to the redevelopment. “It is a very big project, and so some opposition was bound to happen. Some people who have vested interests are opposing, but we will get them over on our side,” says Patel, also an advisor for Vikas Samiti.
The redevelopment plan covers 34 acres, comprising 943 cessed buildings, 349 non-cessed buildings, 14 religious structures, two BMC schools, and four reserved plots. According to MHADA officials, the agency has already constructed 11 buildings in the area.
For landowners, the MHADA will provide a housing unit of 500 sq ft for plots measuring up to 50 square metre, two for plots measuring between 51 square metre (sq m) and 100 sqm, three units for plots between 101 sqm and 150 sqm, four units for plots between 151 sqm and 200 sqm, and for every additional 50 sqm beyond 200 sqm, one additional unit of 500 sqft will be provided to the landowner. Even eligible tenants will get a flat of 500 sq ft. Commercial tenants will get 225 sq ft.
There will also be nearly 4,500 new residential units for sale, as well as towers of 50 floors or more. The redevelopment is divided into eight clusters and won’t be built in one go.
Housing for all is key, officials say, to maintain the social fabric and commercial aspirations of Kamathipura, with its mixed cultures, communities, and businesses.
Tuma says she is looking forward to her “life upgrade” to a 500 sq ft apartment. “Today, my parents are not alive to see this redevelopment. But I am very happy that at least my children, and their children, will live a better life. They won’t have to go through what previous generations did.”
This is an updated version of the report
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
Also Read: The Kamathipura cages: Where women lived and died