MUMBAI (Reuters) – In homes that are cramped, stuffy and increasingly low on food, residents of Mumbai’s huge Dharavi slum are struggling under India’s nationwide lockdown.
FILE PHOTO: A man stands behind a makeshift barricade set up to stop people from entering a lane, during a nationwide lockdown in India to slow the spread of COVID-19, in Dharavi, one of Asia’s largest slums, during the coronavirus disease outbreak, in Mumbai, India, April 9, 2020. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas
In Dharavi, where an estimated one million people live, residents are stretching out meals and relying on donations. But anxiety has been building since the lockdown began on March 25.
“I used to feed my children when I went out for work, but now there is only sorrow and no work,” said Najma Mohammad, who was employed at a garment shop that has closed. Her son and two daughters rely on food handouts from neighbours,