1

Report on Baseline Survey Research,

Mazagaon

TISS-Mazagon Dock Limited CSR Project

Conducted by

School of Management and Labour Studies

Tata Institute of Social Sciences

Mumbai

Commissioned by

Mazagon Dock Limited

Mumbai

Mumbai: 13 January 2011

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Contents

List of Tables, Charts, Graphs,

Research Team

Acknowledgements

List of Abbreviations

Findings

Recommendations

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List of Tables

Table 1 Demographic Profile of the respondents

Table 2 Types of Housing

Table 3 Ownership of the dwelling unit

Table 4 State of Origin

Table 5 Years at the current place

Table 6 Relationship with the owner

Table 7 Age Distribution of the respondents

Table 8 Marital Status

Table 9 Asset Holding : Multiple Responses

Table 10 Descriptive Statistics

Table 11 Educational Qualification

Table 12 Employment status of the respondents

Table 13 Types of occupation

Table 14 Nature of Occupation

Table 15 Economic profile of the respondents

Table 16 No. of earners in the family

Table 17 Working Hours

Table 18 Social Security

Table 19 School going children

Table 20 Expenditure on schooling

Table 21 Availing PDS

Table 22 Commodities obtained from PDS: Multiple responses

Table 23 Health Care Accessibility

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Table 24 Drinking water facility

Table 25 Price of Water

Table 26 Sanitation Facility

Table 27 Types of Sanitation facility

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Research Team at TISS, Mumbai

Project Director

Prof. Sharit Bhowmik

Dean,

School of Management and Labour Studies

Project Officer

Ms. Nandita Mondal

School of Management and Labour Studies

Research Investigators

Ms. Roseline Arul

Mr. Ajit Abhimeshi

Mr. Jaysingh

Mr. Ananda Laxman

Data Analysis

Mr. Debdulal Saha, Ph.D. Scholar, TISS

Ms. Shushma Shinde

Special Inputs

Mr. Rupak Dayal

GGM, MDL

Ms. Urmila Shetty

DGM, MDL

Dr. Desai

DGM, MDL

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Acknowledgements

First of all we‟d like to thank Mazagon Dock Ltd for granting this project. Rear Admiral

Bajaj, Director, had initiated this project with us and has been a great support. Rear Admiral

Bajaj and Mr. Rupak Dayal, Group General Manager, had extensive discussion with us on

the issues involved in improving the living conditions in the area surrounding MDL and how

the organisation could help in this process. Mr. Rupak Dayal was especially helpful at the

time of the survey. His team, comprising Ms. Urmila Shetty (DGM) and Dr. Desai (DGM)

were competent and very knowledgeable of the locality and they extended all possible help.

We benefited a lot from the discussions we had with Shri Dayal, Ms. Shetty and Dr. Desai.

Our research team was also very competent. I thank them for taking so much trouble in

collecting the quantitative as well as the qualitative data.

Ms. Nandita Mandal, our Research Officer, put in tireless efforts to get the report out on

time. I was very touched that despite having a personal tragedy, she continued working.

I finally thank Sushma Shinde of the Computer Centre and Debdulal Saha, Research Scholar

for processing and analyzing the quantitative data respectively.

Sharit K. Bhowmik

Dean, SMLS, TISS.

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List of Abbreviations

BEST Bombay Electricity Supply and Transport

BMC Brihan Mumbai Municipal Corporation

CHW Community Health Worker

HDI Human Development Report

ICDS Integrated Child Development Scheme

MCGM Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai

NGO Non Government Organization

PDS Public Distribution system

T.B. Tuberculosis

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Report on TISS-MDL CSR Baseline Survey Research

This report is based on a field study of the area around Mazagon Dock. The purpose of the

study is to understand the issues facing the poor in the area. Since there is no data on the

specific nature of urban poverty in the Metropolitan city of Mumbai it was not possible to get

any quantitative data on the subject. Hence what was necessary was to have a base line

survey of the area. This would help in understanding the main trends in urban poverty.

Alongside other forms of qualitative data was collected. We will discuss the methodology in

a later section.

Mazagaon is an area that is situated in the eastern tip of the city. Being close to the sea

Mazagaon has other features that make it the obvious choice of a port. The area has a creek

and a basin, known as Kasara Basin, which is deep enough for ships to traverse through.

Along with these, the area has a natural port which is so important for ships to dock on to.

The Mazagon Dock was built in 1774 where a mud slipway was believed to exist. It

witnessed heavy traffic of ships during the World Wars. It was ravaged and reconstructed.

Eventually, the Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) was incorporated as Public limited company

on 26th

February, 1934.

Mazagaon dock has been central to the development of the city. It was through the business

of the port that the city earned its wealth initially from its trade through the ports. Its

surroundings however are in sharp contrast to its success. The municipal ward where MDL is

situated ranks 14th

in the Human Development Index out of the 21 wards in the city. If one

looks outside the walls of demarcating the dock area, one can see the desolate conditions of

the local population. One need not refer to the HDI to determine that the Ward is one of the

lowest in the category. The study reflects the lack of development among the people in the

ward.

The new guidelines for CSR activities give much scope for PSUs to undertake development

activities for the economically and socially underprivileged sections of the country‟s

population. This study conducted by Tata Institute of Social Sciences provides the basic data

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for carrying out activities that would contribute to uplift of the marginalized urban

population. TISS has conducted a base-line survey of the area which provides firstly, the

situation in the area and secondly, suggests ways and means of intervention by MDL in an

effective manner.

Methodology

The methodology for this study includes quantitative and qualitative methods of data

collection and analysis. Soon after the study was commissioned the research team visited the

area along with the MDL officials. The idea was to understand the fields of data collection.

The research team would need to have a firsthand view of the area. After this a brainstorming

session was held at TISS to demarcate the process of data collection.

It was decided that it was not possible to conduct a census of the area. It would be too time

consuming and expensive because a larger number of enumerators would be employed. It

was decided that a sample survey of 500 households would provide the same data. Alongside

qualitative data would be collected from certain representative individuals. The sample

survey would collect data from a cross section of the poor residing in the locality.

The schedule used for the baseline survey would include questions that would elicit data on

the household, living conditions, issues relating to health, access to potable water, sanitation,

education, employment and issues relating to child labour. Data on these indicators are

necessary to get a holistic picture of the socio-economic conditions of the population.

A pilot study was conducted between 11 October and 15 October to test the questions

included in the schedule. We got very useful assistance from officials of MDL, especially Dr.

Desai, Chief Medical Officer who had close knowledge of the area. He was also aware of the

common ailments of the people in the locality. The pilot study enabled us to focus on the

issues. The survey was carried out between 18 and 23 December, 2010.

After completing the survey the research team began collection of qualitative data. This was

done through in-depth interviews of selected individuals and focussed group discussions.

These interviews were conducted in slum pockets of Lakdi Bunder, Reti Bunder and Powder

Bunder, Kolsa Bunder, Wadi Bunder, Kasara Bunder and Bhau cha dhakka (Ferry wharf).

The research team also visited the local BMC hospital and interviewed the Medical Officer

of E Ward, workers in ICDS Centres. They visited the BMC schools to observe how they are

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run and spoke to people in NGOs working on issues like health, education and livelihood etc.

The collection of qualitative data ended in the third week of December.

We began inputting data on the 500 households after cleaning it. This data was then

processed in tabular form. We also had to codify the qualitative data. These processes were

completed by 24 December after which the report was written.

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Findings

The research team met 187 women as respondents while 313 men answered the survey

questionnaire thus made the sample size for the study as 500 (see Table1).

Table 1: Demographic profile of the respondents

Frequency Percent

Male 313 62.6

Female 187 37.4

Total 500 100.0

Table 2: Types of housing

Frequency Percent

Kachha 500 100.0

The entire population that came under the study is living in Kaccha (temporary) houses (table

no. 2). These structures have walls of cardboard or wood and the roofs are of plastic or other

soft materials. Contextually it is required to mention here that the term „slum‟ is used to refer

to many types of housing, including those that could be upgraded. According to UN-

HABITAT, a slum household comprises a group of individuals living under the same roof in

an urban area who lack one or (often) more of the following: durable housing, sufficient

living space access to improved water and sanitation (UNFPA, 2007). As the table shows,

some of them are there almost a good part of their lives. Slums are essentially the

manifestation of deep structural inequality that exists in a society. Statistically one in three

persons lives in slums worldwide. The corresponding figure for Mumbai City stands at 54.1

% (Census, 2001).

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Table No.3: Ownership of the dwelling unit

Frequency Percent

Rent 374 74.8

Own 126 25.2

Total 500 100.0

Despite the fact that the sample lives in kuchha/temporary structures we find that an

overwhelming majority (75%) live in rented places. In other words their huts are not their

own but are owned by others. They were in fact paying rent for their houses. The remaining

25% said that they owned the houses they lived in. We also found that these houses or huts

are illegal structures. Hence it is surprising that people who were first illegal colonisers of the

land have become owners or land lords. The respondents informed that the present cut off

date for the notification of slums from Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC)

applicable in the research area is 1995. In most of the places around Mazagaon, the owners

of the slum huts have erected another Kaccha structure in front of their own and put those on

rent. This nature of spatial development has resulted in the creation of a rentier community,

besides increasing the population density. We found that a household comprises on an

average four people while the maximum number recorded was twelve. The appalling

conditions the people live in show that it is livelihood and not how they live that is the

preponderant need of the people.

Table No.4: Migration & State of Origin (No. of People)

Place Frequency Percent

Original inhabitant 3 .6

WB 88 17.6

UP 167 33.4

Jharkhand 5 1.0

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Maharashtra 141 28.2

AP 24 4.8

Bihar 33 6.6

Orissa 2 .4

Gujarat 10 2.0

Karnataka 10 2.0

Rajasthan 2 .4

MP 6 1.2

Tamil Nadu 3 .6

Goa 4 .8

Nepal 2 .4

Total 500 100.0

Mumbai as we all know is a city of migrants. Our findings also prove this. We found that

99.4% of the entire sample comprises migrants. While Uttar Pradesh (33.4%) has the highest

on the scale, making them largest population in the area, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Orissa

recorded the lowest. The second major source of migration is recorded from West Bengal.

Conspicuously there is also a steady stream of people who are arriving at Mazagaon from the

hinterland of Maharashtra (28.2%).

It may be mentioned here that the huge strain on the infrastructure caused by the slums arises

precisely because the authorities have never created any infrastructure for the poor. These

people are expected to be invisible. Hence the housing policies of the various state agencies

have never proposed building houses for the poor who migrate to the city. These people build

their own houses through their meagre resources. These are then known as slums. In other

words, the urban poor have to build their own houses as the state has no provisions for them.

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Table No. 5 : Years at the current place

Frequency Percent

Not less than a year 1 .2

1-10 100 20.0

10-20 151 30.2

20-30 140 28.0

30-40 64 12.8

40-50 32 6.4

50-60 8 1.6

60-70 4 .8

500 100.0

The table (No.5) reflects on the years the respondents are staying at the current address. It

reveals that some of the respondents are staying at the same place since decades and through

generations. It is significant that a majority (58.2%) have lived there for between 10 to 30

years. Table no. 6 below shows the relationship between house owner and tenant (including

those who live in their own houses). The table shows that 436 persons out of 500 are related

to the house owner while only 12% have no relationship.

The migrant seemed to ignore the hardships that they had to adhere to through generations

only to grab a better livelihood. They became naturalised with the way they stay in the

conditions around.

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Table No.6: Relationship with Owner

Frequency Percent

Brother 1 .2

Father 67 13.4

Husband 41 8.2

Mother 30 6.0

Other 77 15.4

Own 215 43.0

Rent 62 12.4

Sister 2 .4

Son 1 .2

Wife 4 .8

Total 500 100.0

As far as the age of the respondents is concerned, it is evident that while the average age of

the respondents is almost 40 years, it varies between 28 years to 52 years. There is a little less

than the half of the sample belongs to the range of the economically productive age group

belonging to 34 to 45 years (table no.7).

Table No. 7: Age Distribution of the respondents:

Age distribution (in year) Frequency Percent

15-17 3 .6

17-25 55 11.0

25-34 104 20.8

34-45 219 43.8

45-59 77 15.4

59-70 37 7.4

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70-84 5 1.0

Total 500 100.0

Table No. 8. Marital status

Frequency Percent

Unmarried 6 1.2

Married 494 98.8

Total 500 100.0

Table No. 9: Asset Holding: Multiple Responses

Items Responses

N Percent (%)

Two wheeler 38 7.0

Bi Cycle 63 11.6

TV 387 71.0

Refrigerator 57 10.5

Total 545 100.0

The data on household shows that 71% of the respondents are having a television set at their

home. This is very significant in the sense while we consider the question of where do they

procure electricity to run television. Since these are illegal settlements procuring electricity

officially is again another challenge. The focus group discussions revealed that in some

places like Reti Bunder area where the respondents are holding the BMC „receipt‟, they do

have legal connections and pay their bills to BEST.

The table (no. 10) below gives us a bird‟s eye view of how the people beyond the wall of

MDL living their lives. We would refer this table off and on while discussing in detail about

each aspects of lives of the respondents hereafter.

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Table 10: Descriptive Statistics

Indicators (Ratio scale) Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Deviation

Age of the respondent 15 80 39.49 12.025

Year at current place 0 70 23.67 13.401

Educational Qualification 0 6 1.86 1.092

Total Family Member 0 12 4.44 1.893

Total no. of earner 0 10 1.72 .902

Expenditure on children‟s Schooling 0 4 .24 .581

Working hour/ Day 0 24 7.27 3.980

Income/ Month 0 20000 6670.59 3341.217

Health expenditure/ 6 Months 0 20000 465.27 1260.475

Payment on drinking water 0 1000 68.16 102.878

N= 500

Educational attainment of the sample reflected somewhat an interesting situation where

maximum educational qualification recorded as graduate. But correspondingly a close look

at the table no. 11 is giving somewhat an abysmal picture. More than half of the population

has recorded as illiterate. Hence a significant group of people from the productive age group

(52 %) is illiterate. This large illiterate population implies that it is mainly engaged in low

paid manual, unskilled work. This can be further illustrated that the workforce that the area

constituted is mostly illiterate, unskilled labourers.

Table No. 11: Educational Qualification

Frequency Percent

Illiterate 260 52.0

Primary 107 21.4

Upper Primary 85 17.0

Secondary 38 7.6

Higher Secondary 8 1.6

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Graduate 2 .4

Total 500 100.0

Table No. 12: Employment status

Frequency Percent

Yes 424 84.8

No (*) 76 15.2

Total 500 100.0

About 85% of the respondents are employed while 15% are not employed. This 15%

comprises of housewife, some male senior citizens, some are ailing and on rest at home.

The table (No.13) below shows the various types of occupation that the respondents follow

for their livelihood. A miniscule of the population (3%) is having permanent jobs. Almost

half of the population is daily wage worker and having some sort of temporary work to carry

on their lives. 18.2 % of the population is comprises of self employed and 1.8 % are small

entrepreneurs who have small shops of tea, betel leaf, old garments, cycle repairing etc.

Interestingly, very small portion of people go for regular work means the biggest chunk of

the population here may not have work for all the days for a month. This reflects the struggle

for livelihood.

Table No. 13: Types of occupation

Frequency Percent

Not employed 76 15.2

Daily wage worker 134 26.8

Regular 27 5.4

Temporary 149 29.8

Permanent 15 3

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Self-employed 91 18.2

Small entrepreneur 8 1.6

Total 500 100

While we go for the nature of jobs, the severity of the struggle is clear. Almost close to 20%

of the respondents are housemaids. There are 30 types of job that we found people at these

areas clutch for their livelihood (table no.14).

Table No.14: Nature of occupation

Sr. No. Occupation Frequency Percent

1. Barbar 2 0.4

2. Cable Operator 1 0.2

3. Carpenter 1 0.2

4. Construction Worker 8 1.6

5. Dhaba 2 0.4

6. Driver 32 6.4

7. Electrician 1 0.2

8. Fish boat 2 0.4

9. Fish selling 23 4.6

10. Flower merchant 5 1

11. Helper 36 7.2

12. Housemaid 92 18.4

13. Labour 27 5.4

14. Masson 4 0.8

15. Mechanic 3 0.6

16. Mobile vendor 9 1.8

17. Naka labour 8 1.6

18. Not employed 76 15.2

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19. Painter 7 1.4

20. Peon 1 0.2

21. Plumber 4 0.8

22. Porter 6 1.2

23. Scavenger 3 0.6

24. Self employment 4 0.8

25. Service 11 2.2

26. Ship breaking 36 7.2

27. Shopkeeper 48 9.6

28. Tailor 3 0.6

29. Vendors 7 1.4

30. Watchman 25 5

31. Welder 12 2.4

Total 500 100

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Nature_occupation

tailorserviceporterNot employedmassonflower marchant

Drivercarpenterbarbar

Pe

rce

nt

20

15

10

5

0

Nature_occupation

Table No.15: Economic profile

Income/ Month Frequency Percent

>1000 8 1.6

1000-2500 20 4.0

2500-5000 128 25.6

5000-7000 151 30.2

7000-10000 145 29.0

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10000-15000 39 7.8

15000-20000 9 1.8

Total 500 100.0

Thirty percent of the respondents earn between Rs. 5000 to Rs. 7000 a month. The picture

would be more clear if we consider the number of earners per family and the working hours

that they put together to live. The descriptive statistics above explains that the monthly

average income of the households under the study is only Rs.6670.29. It is deviating by

almost Rs. 3500. Here it is necessary to mention that we have got 3 respondents who are not

earning at all due to chronic illnesses and being taken care of their immediate relatives who

are staying in separate household. The table (no.16 ) below reveals that in 41% of the

households at least two people are working.

Table No.16: No of earners in the family

Frequency Percent

Not earning respondents 3 .6

1 225 45.0

2 205 41.0

3 54 10.8

4 7 1.4

5 4 .8

7 1 .2

10 1 .2

Total 500 100.0

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Table No.17: Working Hours

Working Hour (in Hrs) Frequency Percent

1-5 74 17.45

5-10 264 62.26

10-15 83 19.58

15-20 2 0.47

20-24 1 0.24

Total 424 100

Most of the people are working for almost 5 to 10 hours per day to meet their ends together.

Another significant fact is that most of them do not have any form of social security (see

Table 18).

Almost the major chunk of (92.8%) of the population is not under any social security

scheme. Only two of the respondents are receiving free health check up from employer as

they are in service. Only 34 people out of 500 are covered under some sort of insurance.

This reflects that even after spending a good part of their lives in such precarious situation,

the people are vulnerable during the evening years of their lives.

Table No. 18: Social Security

Frequency Percent

Not availing 464 92.8

Free Health Services 2 .4

Insurance 34 6.8

Total 500 100.0

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The table below reveals that there are no children in 37 households. 274 people are having

school going children and 189 people do not have school going children.

Table No. 19: School going children

Frequency Percent

No Children 37 7.4

Yes 274 54.8

No 189 37.8

Total 500 100.0

Table No.20: Expenditure on schooling

Frequency Percent

No expenditure 373 80.56

Uniform 68 14.69

School Books 18 3.89

Incidental 1 0.22

Any other 3 0.65

Total 463 100.00

Since almost all the children from the study area are going to BMC school expenditure on

school going children is almost nil for 80% of the respondents. Some of the children are

going to private schools; hence, they incur expenditure towards uniform, books, refreshments

etc.

Public Facilities:

Let us move to the area of public facility that the population use to lead their lives. The table

below shows that there are 5 respondents who do not have any ration card. 62.4% people are

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availing the PDS facility and get some or the other commodity from Ration shop. The table

below (no.22) shows that the respondents mostly get fuel and sugar from the ration shop. 183

people are not being able to avail the PDS facility at all even if they are having the ration

cards. The focus group interviews reveal that even if they have ration card, the ration shop

are not having any commodity to offer to public at all.

Table No.21: Availing PDS

Frequency Percent

No Ration Card issued 5 1.0

Yes 312 62.4

No 183 36.6

Total 500 100.0

Table No.22: Commodities obtained from PDS: Multi Responses

Items Responses

N Percent

Kerosene 232 39.5%

Wheat 53 9.0%

Rice 53 9.0%

Sugar 202 34.4%

Pulses 47 8.0%

Health is a major asset for the human existence who is constantly striving to ameliorate the

socio-economic condition of the family. In general, Public health Services in India comprises

of a network of health units to cater to the citizens. In urban areas, the health care is

provided by the Urban Family Welfare Centres (UFWC), Maternity Homes, Urban Health

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Post (UHP)and General Hospitals. The area under research has one health post and a

maternity home in the vicinity. This has been confirmed by the result depicted in the table

below.

Table No.23: Health care accessibility

Frequency Percent

Yes 500 100.0

There is a very conspicuous picture that is being revealed with the above table. Here the

entire population answered that they do have health care accessibility. But the probing

questions on this answer and qualitative enquiries revealed somehow a different picture

altogether. The people from the area do have accessibility to the BMC hospital (Ahilyabai

Hospital and Nawab Tank Hospital ) in the vicinity and for emergency they do avail the

services of two major BMC hospitals i.e. KEM and JJ Hospital. The neighbourhood hospital

is being used mostly for delivery and Tuberculosis patients respectively. The major cases are

always being sent to two other BMC hospitals.

As far as drinking water is concerned the picture is murky. About 25 % people answered that

they have drinking water connection at home but the personal interviews revealed that the

drinking water is not available at home at all even if they were given the connection. Almost

75% people do not receive any water connection at home. They collect the water by paying

prices to some who control public water sources and could be described as a „water mafia‟.

Table No.24: Drinking water facility

Frequency Percent

Yes 127 25.4

No 373 74.6

Total 500 100.0

27

While asked whether they pay for the water they use the more issues of concern emerged.

While 70.4% people said they pay for the water they use almost 30% people answered they

do not. The focus group interviews in different slum pockets reveal that the pipeline of Fire

Department is the major source of water availability for the people staying in the area. The

residents unlock the fire hydrants to get their supply. The water mafia, mentioned above,

control the water outlets. The water from these sources is available after 6 pm and these

people decide on how much each has to pay for their supply (see Table 25).

Table No.25: The Price of Water

Frequency Percent

No 148 29.6

Yes 352 70.4

Total (N) 500 100.0

The very next civic facility that comes is sanitation. A large section of the slum population

is dependent on public toilet facilities provided by the BMC or MHADA. Unfortunately,

these facilities are found always inadequate to cater the needs of the people. Hence, there is

open defecation which causes unhygienic conditions in these slums. Mazagon is no

exception. The table below (no.26) revealed that the entire population under study living in

kachha houses do not have sanitation facility attached to their dwelling units.

Table 26: Sanitation Facility

Frequency Percent

No (N=500) 500 100.0

Table No.27: Types of sanitation facility

28

Frequency Percent

Sulabh 354 70.8

Open Space 40 8.0

Common Toilet 106 21.2

Total (N) 500 100.0

The table (No. 27) above depicted that nearly 70 % of the respondents are using the facilities

erected by the NGO, Sulabh and 21.2% are using the facilities provided by the BMC. It

seems the service that are provided by the civic body is outpaced by the population in the

area because 8% of the respondents accepted that they use open spaces.

In a nutshell, the study reveals that the area beyond the wall of MDL is not akin to the

prosperity that it reflects within. The severity of the ground zero situation needs a

professional approach to address to. Pandit Nehru once remarked: “It is bad enough to

inherit slums but to allow them to grow is the society‟s fault: the government‟s fault …

They are a bolt on the society‟s conscience”

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Qualitative Report on MDL-TISS CSR Project

Health

Ahilyabai Holker BMC Maternity Home, Mazagaon

Dr. Sabina Pathan ( Resident Doctor)

Ahilyabai Hospital is a 10 bed BMC Maternity Home. Out Patient Department (OPD) of the

hospital runs between 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. every day. This hospital is primarily being used by the

residents of Dockyard Road, Wadi Bunder, S.V.Patel Road, Darukhana, Reay road, Lakdi

Buder, Kolsa Bunder, Powder Bunder area. Most of the patients who are being treated are

either children or women of the area. The maternity cases are mostly treated at this hospital.

Dr. Pathan is of opinion that the diseases like Malaria, Typhoid, Dysentry etc. are the

common cases that they treat generally at the OPD.

This BMC hospital gives the medicines to the patients for the treatment for public good. Dr.

Pathan explained that once the Tuberculosis cases diagnosed are being sent to the Hospitals

like JJ Hospital, Kasturba Hospital which are having capacity to treat this disease better.

Dr. Pathan is of opinion that paucity of safe drinking water, lack of knowledge about

personal health and hygiene among the local residents are the key issues that have to be

addressed.

Nawab Tank Health Post, E Ward BMC

Dr. Abhijit Varpe (Health Officer)

This health post organizes eight health camps for health check up and arranges Pulse Polio

programme on routine basis. The OPD at the health post works between 9 a.m. to 4

p.m.There are two community health workers attached to this health post. They do visit the

community everyday from 10.30 a.m. to 1 p.m. They conduct survey to detect skin disease,

convey messages about family planning etc. Ahead of health camp the CHWs visit the local

30

areas like Reti Dunder, Lakdi Bunder etc. to create awareness among the community people

to usher them to join the health camp.

According to Dr. Abhijt Varpe around 300 people, mostly women and children join the

camps.

E Ward Health Officer, MCGM

Dr. Inamdar and Dr. Khumbhare

The discussion with them brought forth the following points

a) MCGM facilities are being provided during a fixed time that is 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

After such period the people generally go to the private practitioners of the area and

in case of emergency they go to the teaching hospitals at the tertiary level like King

Edward Memorial (KEM) hospital and JJ Hospital.

b) According to the Doctors the root cause of the diseases among the residents of the

Mazagaon area is the lack of observance of basic sanitation facilities and personal

health and hygiene.

c) Although the health awareness camps are being organized regularly until the

sanitation facilities and water supply are properly arranged the diseases are going to

be prevalent among the residents.

While the above discussion about the health of local residents under the study depicts that

there are lot to do the observations done by the research team suggest that even if the services

are offered by these municipal health posts are more affordable, this does not necessarily

mean that the local urban poor have access to them. First of all, to avail the facilities, the

people who are mostly engaged in unorganized sector for their livelihood have to forgo the

day‟s work. That results in lack of wages for the day and many times this is the major cause

that they avoid going to these places. Secondly, the inadequate facilities and poor

infrastructures are the deterrent to serve the people satisfactorily. The Focus group

interviews with the local residents reveal that the health posts could not provide all the

medicines that are required, hence even if they consult the doctors at the health post, the

medicines have to be purchased from the chemists at high prices.

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It has been observed by the doctor of maternity home and the research team also that the

people from Maharashtrian background prefer to take the expecting ladies to the private

doctors from local area rather than getting them treated in the local Maternity Home. After

lot of probing it emerged that apparently the Maharashtrian families avoid taking their

women in Maternity Home to keep their women out of the feeling of discomfort to get

exposed before the prying eyes of the men of the other communities who flock the home to

visit their relatives.

The private Practitioners that serve at the local areas are almost in unison suggested that the

lack of safe water supply, proper disposal of waste from the neighbourhood and lack of

awareness among the people about the personal health and hygiene are the root causes of

spread of diseases in the local area. According to them the prevalent diseases that they treat

are Malaria, Jaundice, Skin disease, Typhoid, Tuberculosis etc. The following practitioners

are having clinics at the local level.

1) Dr. Ashfaque Thakur, MBBS

Hamid Building, Dockyard Road

2) Dr. Khan, MBBS

Reti Bunder

3) Dr. Y. S. Shetty, MBBS

Sai Raj Pvt. Hospital

Darukhana

4) Dr. Dinesh, BHMS

Opposite Central Railway Jopadpatti, Haji Cussum Godown

5) Dr. Jagdish Verma, BHMS

Lakdi Bunder

6) Dr. Hashmi,BHMS

Reay Road

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7) Dr. Dalvi,MBBS

Kolsa Bunder

8) Dr. Kadam, MBBS

Kawla Bunder

Education

Education again creates an opportunity for human beings to further their progress. And here

in the city of Mumbai the schools run by the civic body are of paramount importance. Access

to schooling can be viewed from two perspectives. First is availability of school in the

neighbourhood to join and second, ability to continue the education there. Furthermore, the

quality of early childhood care and education to prepare the children for regular schooling is

always a challenge. It is all the more challenging in case of urban poor since most of them

are migrant labour, children are left in the lurch, sometimes with the elder siblings otherwise

the women need to be at home by leaving their work. Needless to say that there is little room

for choice in taking a day off from the job. Women, in these cases, too often left the young

children behind. These children roam around the vicinity and play throughout the day. Such a

situation prevails in areas like Darukhana where there are no day care centres (Balwadis). In

Reay Road, however, there are two Balwadis working in the rented rooms.

The research team found out that in education for the children at the primary level there are

many stakeholders working in Reay Road and Darukhana. While the children do not have

anganwadis, they are being sent to BMC school at Nawab Tank whic has classes till upper

primary (class seven). They then some go to Bal Vidya Mandir (a BMC School) at

Kalachowki or to Byculla Municipal School. Very few go to Rosary Church School at

Dockyard. NGOs like Vimla Vikas Kendra and Doorstep School are working in the area on

children‟s education issue.

ICDS Centres at Reay Road

There are two ICDS centres in Reay Road. Ms. Ashwini Kemkare and Ms. Kadambari are

the in-charge of these centres. The centres are housed in Jopadpattis (hutments) that were

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rented. The research team found that one of the centres starts working at 11 a.m. provided by

that time the landlord vacates the room. We were told that there were 50 children enrolled

but after visiting the place over several times we found that there were only 10 children who

lived in adjacent hutments. The room was bare as there were not charts or maps on the walls.

These are normal educational aids for children in play schools. The children were given

sukha bhel. We found that the other centre was never found opened.

Nawab Tank BMC School

Principal : Ms. Hamida Shaikh

This school primarily caters to the local residents of Darukhana and Kasara Bunder. This

school has two shifts and offers education till VII standard. The morning shift is for IVth to

VII th standard and the afternoon shift is for the Ist to III

rd standards. This school has 10

teaching staff and strength of 450 students. Tamil and Urdu are the mediums of instruction.

The school does provide the mid day meal for the children.

The principal herself expressed that she generally makes periodic visits among the

community (Reti Bunder and Lakdi Bunder) nearby to convince the parents to send their

children to school.

Vimla Vikas Kendra, Rosary Church Compound

Dockyard

Vimla Vikas Kendra started in August 1996 as part of Sneha Sadan, Andheri, which works

for street children. Since April 2001 it is incorporated into the Rosary Parish as community

centre. The target group was the pavement dwellers along P.D‟Mello Road, from Wadi

Bunder, Dockyard road and a section of Reay Road. The objectives of the organization are

to provide educational and recreational opportunities for children and youth, empower

women and children to know their rights and to live with dignity, identify needs such as

nutrition, health, literacy etc. and take up vital issues e.g. basic amenities, family disputes,

rationing, housing.

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We found that the children were mainly from Kasara Bunder, Reti Bunder area. They went

to Rosary Church for evening tuition classes that are from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. There were 125

children were enrolled in the tuition classes. There were two teachers. The monthly charges

were Rs. 10 per student.

Magic Bus, another NGO, took the children for picnics every year and Don Bosco arranged

the Christmas festival. Anmol Trust, Wadala arranged the Diwali festival for the children.

Doortstep School -Mumbai

Nana Chowk, Grant Road.

Doorstep School is an NGO promotes education among children. They have a bus, called

School on Wheels (SOW) that operates in Reay Road, Lakdi Bunder, Wadi Bunder areas.

There are two steps that the NGO takes in helping educate children. Firstly, the children are

given lessons that introduce them to reading and writing. After this course is over, Doorstep

School volunteers help their parents to apply in the BMC schools in the neighbourhood.

Once the admission to the school is secured the SOW buses pick up the children from their

homes and drop them to school. The busses later bring them back home. We found this was a

fairly successful project because a large number of children, who would otherwise have little

or no access to education were going to regular school. We feel that this endeavour needs to

be strengthened so that more children can benefit.

Sanitation and Waste Management

Although there are toilets provided by the Municipality as part of the basic services

programme, these are never sufficient. There is visible open defecation and unhygienic

conditions around the areas of residence. Scarcity of water and scanty arrangement of proper

toilets create enormous problems relating to health and hygiene.

The focus group discussions with the residents and talks with the contractors of the NGO

Sulabh Sauchalaya showed that having greater access to toilets was a priority issue for the

residents.

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Huge heaps of garbage are seen at the entrance of Lakdi Bunder, Reti bunder areas as well as

Reay Road. The residents complained that the containers provided by the BMC are not

enough. Moreover, irregular evacuations of garbage by the BMC trucks create a nuisance in

the neighbourhood.

Hence, lack of water, poor sanitary arrangement and improper waste management create a

harrowing picture of civic life.

Water Supply

Access to water is the biggest challenge for the residents of the area under the study. There

are a very few public water taps which are available for potable water. The observations of

the research team and the results of discussions showed that a family of four requires at least

150 lts. per day. The residents preserve water in containers of 35 lts. They pay Rs. 5 for

each container of water. Since a family of four to five people requires almost four containers

of water, it costs a family Rs. 25 a day to meet the basic need of water. Having left with no

choice for the safe drinking water source, the families under the area of research have to

drink the water they are bringing for other usage which is not potable.

The most conspicuous point here is the source of water and the politics behind it. A particular

political party, that forms the majority in the Municipal Corporation, is involved in this

activity. He rank and file who has basically goons, have used their influence with the

municipal authorities to block the water sources of the slum dwellers. Earlier some residents

used to get water in their homes. Now these pipes run dry. The only source of water is from

pipes that the goons have gained control of. They sell the water at a premium.

Another method adopted is that some influential people (the goons) open the fire hydrants

attach a pump and distribute water, at a price. The observations made by the research team

revealed that at times some residents collect water from the gutters flowing underground. We

found that the residents were in fact at the mercy of this water mafia who rule without fear.

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Recommendations

The study reveals that there is definitely room for Mazagon Dock Limited to put in effort as

part of their Corporate Social Responsibility for the uplift of the community around. On the

basis of this study, MDL could prepare an action plan with its goal and objectives and

achievable outputs that they would like to aim for. It could be properly done by a team of

officers having initial discussions and prepare a draft on it before plunging into the process of

implementation.

The following recommendations should be considered:

1) MDL needs to prepare a basic document for Corporate Social Responsibility

depicting its goal, objectives and expected output spelt out clearly. The action plan of

next five year considering the priorities about the issues that this study putting forth,

should be prepared. We could help in preparing such a blue print.

2) While the activities at the field can be done by the NGOs, there is a need to have a

team of dedicated officials / staff to take charge at MDL to monitor the projects. The

present officials engaged in the project are adequate and competent.

3) These officials / staff should be appropriately trained in monitoring the CSR.

4) MDL needs to involve NGOs that are working among the communities on the issues

in the local area. The empanelment of NGOs can be done on the basis of this study.

5) There are some more NGOs existing in the area who are working for institutional

care. MDL may extend their help to their pursuit also while abiding by the CSR

guideline.

6) The CSR guidelines that have been issued by the Department of Public Enterprises

should be followed.

7) Considering the priorities that this study brings forth, the field level intervention

should be done in the areas like health, sanitation and waste management in the

public places around Mazagaon, livelihood and education of the children and labour.

8) While water availability is an important issue and needs to be taken care of, it has

many dimensions into its fold. The socio-political situation right now is yet to be

mature enough to tackle the water issue to the first place. Other types of interventions

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would be able to prepare the ground to make the community to resolve on water

issue.

9) Asha Sadan, is an after care home for girls. This is an NGO governed by

Maharashtra State Women‟s Council. It is a registered NGO under the Societies

Registration Act and Bombay Public Trust Act. This home offers institutional care to

girls only. The immediate action in this respect is to provide financial help for

employing competent teachers for the girls. The institution suffers from shortage of

proper teachers. With proper educational facilities this NGO could be used to create

livelihood opportunities for its inmates as part of their rehabilitation process.

Other areas of intervention are, providing assistance for a medical practitioner,

holding classes for promoting nutrition, preparing the inmates for the apprenticeship

exam for MDL.

10) The Doorstep School operating in this area helps to transport children to the nearest

schools. MDL could help in intensifying its activities. In addition, the existing

municipal schools could be upgrade in terms of teaching aids so that the children can

get better education. The NGO also needs more busses to intensify its activities.

11) Labour Education And Research Network (LEARN), an NGO could partner with

MDL in the area of skill development, health and sanitation and waste management.

LEARN is an NGO registered under the Societies Act. It has been mobilizing women

in the areas of self-employment and collective action. It has been organizing women

working in small industries, street vending and waste picking/recycling.

LEARN could be assisted in holding awareness campaigns on health and hygiene

among residents in slums in the different locations. The NGO would initially require

funding for engaging one or two women organizers. Based on this activity, the next

step would be of setting up a pay and use toilet run by the local women.

Since control and distribution of water is a major issue in the locality, the NGO is

willing to ensure that water supply is taken up in areas not so far served by BMC

lines.

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Through its organization of waste pickers, the NGO can help in solid waste

management in the area.

The above are very important issues for the development of the area and its people. A

time bound programme, spreading over a few years can be prepared by the NGO,

however its immediate task should be of holding awareness campaigns so that the

local people are involved in their development.

12) Vimla Vikas Kendra, a community centre at Mazagaon can be given assistance in

pursuing their intervention in children‟s education. This organization runs free

coaching classes for slum children.

13) Women‟s Special Cell, is a field action project under Tata Institute of Social

Sciences. This was initiated to cater to women who suffer from domestic violence. In

1984 women‟s cell is created in a few of Mumbai Police Stations as a pilot project

where the women counsellors intervened in the process of giving the tortured women

the access to Police for registering their complaints first and then mediating between

the two sides. Once the pilot project was successful the project expanded in other

police stations of Mumbai City. This initiative requires a lot of boost in the areas of

infrastructure and attracting capable manpower. The salaries offered are low and

these can hardly allow competent social workers. A better pay structure could help in

attracting better people.

14) Another important area that MDL can intervene is in upgrading the Home for

Mentally Challenged (Women) situated within the Children‟s Home in Mankurd.

Though this area is outside the vicinity of MDL, it is imperative that the condition of

the Home be upgraded in a systematic and phased manner. These girls are all

abandoned by their parents/guardians and most were found loitering in the streets.

They are picked up by the police of social workers and are sent to this home. As such

these girls have no future outside the home. MDL has already helped the girls who

were selected for the Special Olympics for Challenged People to be held in Greece.

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Some of the girls are engaged in weaving. They make dusters, hand towels and other

pieces of cloth. MDL could perhaps help in marketing these products. A more

important input would be to help in improving the state of the looms and also provide

financial assistance for engaging good trainers.

There are some borderline cases among the girls. These could be given special inputs

so that they could later be absorbed by MDL as trainees.