"My husband and I live in a chawl in Goregaon -- and it's been our home for the last 24 years. The first thing that I noticed after we started staying there was the lack of toilets -- only 10 amongst 3000 people. I had to start waking up at 4 AM -- to avoid standing in long queues. It was very inconvenient, but we were hopeful that our condition will improve gradually. However, things only became worse.
Over the years, tenants increased, but the number of toilets remained the same. There would be people arguing and fighting every day, for something as basic as this. Once, an old lady even fell But when I went there, there were already a couple of houses and an acid factory built over that land.
I got confused and tried to find out about it. This is when someone told me that the land has been illegally captured by a local goon, to make money. I was devastated - all my hopes crashed. But I knew I couldn't keep quiet or back down. What he was doing wasn't right - and I wasn't going to let so many others suffer.
The next day, I filed a complaint with the local authority -- and I was promised a quick outcome.
It is getting messier each day. Just a week ago, the goons came to our house again, fought with us, and demolished half of our house. Now, we don't have a kitchen where I can cook, nor do we have a roof over our heads. This is the price which we've had to pay for standing up against the truth. But I won't stop, and I'll make sure that new toilets are built in our chawl. I've already lost a lot in this fight, but I have faith that at the end of the day - the good will triumph over evil. And we will get what we deserve, no matter what."
Humans of Bombay, Fb