'Don’t Make Us Drink Nullah Water, Redevelop Dharavi First': Mumbai Weighs STP Wastewater-To-Drinking Water Plan Amid Cuts & Monsoon delay

Mumbai: As Mumbai explores converting STP water into drinking water to meet its growing water needs, families living along Dharavi’s filthy drains say their most urgent need is safer homes, cleaner surroundings, and a life of dignity

Mumbai has been facing delayed monsoon arrivals for the past few years. This year, the city had to face a 10% water cut and due to growing population, Mumbai's water supply demand has substantially increased. As Mumbai explores using advanced technology to convert polluted wastewater into potable water to address future water shortages, many residents of Dharavi have a blunt message: don’t ask us to drink sewage water,  help us move away from it.

For decades, thousands of families in Dharavi have lived beside some of Mumbai’s filthiest nullahs and polluted water bodies, dealing with unbearable stench, flooding, mosquitoes, and serious health risks.

The black, sluggish streams cutting through parts of Dharavi are filled with untreated sewage, industrial waste, plastic, and garbage. For residents living barely a few feet away, this is not an abstract environmental issue but a daily struggle.

“People cannot imagine drinking water that once flowed through these nullahs. The smell enters our homes, mosquitoes breed here and during monsoon dirty water floods our houses. What we need is better housing and a cleaner environment through redevelopment,” said Zubeda Khan, a homemaker and social activist from Dharavi.

The health impact is visible across age groups. Children grow up playing in narrow lanes next to open drains, while many elderly residents complain of breathing problems, skin infections and recurring illness.

“Living near contaminated water bodies increases the risk of skin infections, gastrointestinal diseases, respiratory issues and mosquito-borne illnesses like dengue and malaria,” said Dr Furquan Shaikh, a doctor practising in Dharavi.

“Technology may be able to purify wastewater to very high standards, but from a public health perspective, the bigger goal should be reducing people’s exposure to such polluted surroundings altogether.”

Residents say the larger issue is not whether dirty water can be made drinkable, but why people should continue living beside toxic drains in the first place.

Many believe the answer lies in speeding up the Dharavi Redevelopment Project, which promises modern housing, proper sanitation, underground drainage, and improved waste management.

Residents say redevelopment can do more than improve infrastructure — it can fundamentally change quality of life by reducing pollution, improving health and restoring dignity.

While recycling wastewater may help tackle future water scarcity, residents argue it does little to solve the immediate crisis of families forced to live next to the source of that pollution.

For thousands in Dharavi, redevelopment is not just about new homes. It is about escaping an environment that has compromised health and dignity for decades.

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