Population

 

A mass of people waiting for a bus in the overcrowded city center.

Mumbai is the third largest city in the world and has one of the most rapid rates of growth today. There is a population of 9.9 million in the city and a total of 15.4 million when suburbs are included. The people of this city are very culturally and religiously diverse, especially since many residents have migrated from central and western India for work opportunities. At 69% of the population, Hindu is the dominant religion, followed by Muslim at 14%, Sikh at 7% and at less than 10% each, a mixture of Christians, Jains and Buddhists. In terms of language, Mumbai is also unique. The official language of the region, Marathi, is only spoken by less than half of the population. Gujarati and English are the second and third most popular, but there are over sixteen languages, mostly of India, spoken by people in Mumbai altogether.

An example of a Hand Foot and Mouth Disease outbreak.

With so many different people in such a concentrated area, overcrowding and spread of disease are two major problems the city is plagued with.

         Currently, there is an outbreak of the hand foot and mouth disease virus that is plaguing children across Mumbai. This virus causes high fever and outbreaks of blisters and rashes on the mouths hands and feet of infants and small children. The spread of this contagious disease is facilitated by the overcrowded and unsanitary living conditions of residents of slums.

        A shocking example of the slum problem is Dharavi, the largest slum in the area, and often referred to as the largest slum in all of Asia. One statistic claimed that “as many as 18,000 people crowd into a single acre”. With such close quarters, supplies are limited and disease runs rampant. Further, since many of the people living in slums are there illegally they are not given full legal access to public services or medical care. They are at the mercy of the crooks in the city to provide them with necessities like clean water at astronomical and oftentimes unaffordable prices. There has been talk in the government of taking measures to tackle this slum problem, which has been named one of Mumbai’s most serious issues, but it is impossible to do so without adequate funding or land area.

Sources:

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2007/05/dharavi-mumbai-slum/jacobson-text

http://www.city-data.com/world-cities/Mumbai-Bombay-People.html

http://www.healthylivingindia.org/2010/10/hand-foot-and-mouth-disease-in-mumbai.html

Brunn, Stanley D., Jack Francis Williams, and Michael E. Bonine. "Cities of South Asia." Cities of the world: world regional urban development. 4 ed. New York: Harper & Row, 1983. 411. Print.