Javed was 13 when his brother-in-law brought him to work with him in the scrap business in Saki Naka. “Abhi kachre se pet bharta hai, toh humein kachra achcha lagta hai.”
In 1988, Javed built himself a house in Kandivali (East). But in 2003, in a massive demolition to clear Sanjay Gandhi National Park, he lost his house. Javed mentioned how Shabana Azmi’s NGO, Nivara Hakk, started advocating for the people who had been displaced. Those who stayed put were asked to pay Rs 7,000 and in return got assurance of a house. Javed’s sister who stayed put with her husband, now has a “block” in Chandivali. Javed says the room his sister has got is very small. Although there is dignity and respect in living in a flat, it is not convenient – a gala can be extended to accommodate growing families, a flat is a fixed area, says Javed. He chose to move to Sai Society with 30 of his family members and establish a recycling plastic business.
When Javed first moved to Sai Society, he sorely missed his life in Kandivali and would travel back at least three times a week to meet his friends. He would take an Andheri slow train, get off at Kandivali, and use the toilets there, since Sai Society had no functioning toilet. He then spent the whole day chatting with his friends before returning. He spoke of getting small jobs such as arranging for voter’s ID done through Vidyatai, the local Shiv Sena corporator. The Kandivali slum was an old one and, over the years, they had forged strong political networks. But here Javed feels like they’ve been abandoned by the corporator and the City Corporation.
“The UP and Biharis have built Bombay and now they (the government) are throwing us out. What will be left of Bombay without us? We collect plastic and waste because it brings us a little money but if we don’t do it, Bombay will be nothing but mountains of waste. We are recycling the city. That is why I say, we are public servants,” Javed says.
