'All my life, I've hardly seen water'
Swati Sanjay Shirke,
Malad East
At Swati Sanjay Shirke's jhopdi in Ambedkar Nagar, Malad East, the kitchen is not just where they cook, but also where they store. The "mori", abutting it, has been seized by an assortment of 12 differently-sized buckets, which Swati has stockpiled inside. There are more, which come out on "dry days", she informs. "We get water, once every two days, for an hour," she says. "So, I need to store whatever little we get."

The Shirkes live on land, which according to the Mumbai Development Plan is inside the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, and thus, falls in the forest zone. This not only means that their settlements are illegal, but also, that they don't enjoy legal water and electricity supply. While they await rehabilitation from the government, following an HC order in 1996, families like Swati's struggle with basic amenities. Swati, who works as a domestic help in Santa Cruz, moved here in 1991, after she got married.