ParvatiHillside slum with a migrant population

Community Composition: Primarily Kannadigas from Bijapur in Karnataka; mix of Muslims and Hindus.

General Description: This slum is located on the side of a hill, right above a road which is next to a nala, and beneath a Hindu mandir situated at the top of the hill. It is a relatively old settlement, and contains pucca houses (roughly 750). Stretches upto 4 kms, one of the biggest slum in Pune.

Sanitation Situation: There are two community toilets located in close proximity to this community. One toilet is at the bottom of the hill, and is shared ladies/mens toilet. There are twenty toilets total in this building. Another toilet building is at the top of the hill, which is only for women and children. This toilet closes at night. Each family in the community pays Rs. 20/month for a pass to use these toilets. Both buildings were dirty, though there are caretakers and locals who come and clean the toilets.

Top Reasons to Choose This Location/Unique Aspects: 1. This is one of the few locations we saw with a dedicated children’s toilet. 2. The locals were sociable and open in their conversations with us.3. The topographical location is unique (hillside). Very much like the favella slums of Brazil.4. One of the largest slums in Pune. 5. This is the birthplace of the self help group Mahila Milan. It will be interesting to talk to the women who have been living here for long and compare the sanitation conditions from before and now and what they would like for the future.6. This is one of the two slums in Pune where there is another separate toilet solely for women on the top of the hill.7. One of the few slums in Pune where there is a heterogenous (migrant/local - Hindu/ Muslim) population living in co-existence.8. Since its on a hilly region, there are a lot of water issues faced by the people. It would be interesting to see how they manage the perpetual water crises living in such a hilly location.9. There is a caretaker only for only one of the toilets (there are a total of 5 toilets in the area), while the maintenance of the separate women’s toilet on the hilltop is left to the inhabitants of that area. 10. The sub-clusters of slums around Janta Avasat in Parvati (for instance, Jai Bhawani Nagar/

other wards) would be interesting to study as one big slum ecosystem.