Mumbai Slums Need Clean Water & the Government Does Not Care

In the slums of Mumbai, the taps have been installed by the municipality but in spite of promises from prominent politicians they continue to run dry. Tired of waiting for the authorities to respond to their numerous petitions and requests, 500 slum dwellers took to the street to protest for their right to water. The government plans to upgrade the slums have remained on paper, and basic amenities like water, health and sanitation are almost non-existent in slum neighborhoods. The people have grown weary of living in these deteriorating conditions and have decided to agitate to claim what is rightfully theirs. The agitation of slum dwellers has been video-documented by Amol Lalzare, a Video Volunteers Community Correspondent who himself is a resident of one of the largest slums in the city. Mr. Lalzare is among a new generation slum dwellers who are documenting with video the struggles of their neighbors as they attempt to organize themselves and rise against the discrimination. Another of Mr. Lalzare's videos, "Mumbai Slums Go to Waste," captures the anger and desperation of his friends and neighbors as they watch their surroundings flood with sewage, damaging the health of the residents. It has been 10 years since the drain was damaged but the municipality has not yet acted on the petitions and complaints. "It seems that the government thinks we are animals and are not fit to be treated as human beings," says Mr. Lalzare. Mr. Lalzare works for Video Volunteers, an international community media organization that has trained over 200 disadvantaged people in India to find a livelihood as video reporters. His videos are distributed by the organization's Feature Service called IndiaUnheard. His videos were screened before 500 people at an international gathering of water and sanitation experts put on by Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSCC), bringing the much-needed voice of affected communities into the discussion. Says Jessica Mayberry, founder of Video Volunteers, "Amol is an amazing young man who used to work as a rickshaw driver but now has found a livelihood as the voice of his community. People like Amol are the future of media." To watch Mr. Lalzare's other videos, visit his profile at Video Volunteers' IndiaUnheard website at http://indiaunheard.videovolunteers.org/author/amol/. About Video Volunteers Video Volunteers identifies, trains and empowers grassroots media producers who create change in and for voiceless communities in the developing world. The organization's work has been recognized by the Knight News Challenge, Echoing Green, TED, Waldzell, the King of Belgium, UNESCO, YouTube, and others who have helped Video Volunteers elevate the voices of these rural communities. For further information on Video Volunteers please visit www.videovolunteers.org or follow us @twitter/video volunteers or fan us on Facebook/Video Volunteers.

Melvin Wylie