Tucked away in the busy, ever-changing landscape of Mumbai is Jai Ambe Nagar, an informal settlement that tells a larger story of resilience, uncertainty, and everyday struggle. For more than 25 years, Manisha Vankhedkar has lived here. Her experiences illustrate how poverty, gender inequality, and urban neglect shape access to basic services like water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) for thousands of families.

Manisha, now 40 and a mother of two, has seen her home demolished multiple times by civic authorities and private builders. Jai Ambe Nagar itself has been razed several times. Each time the bulldozers arrived without warning, families scrambled to gather their belongings before watching their homes come down.

“I have seen my basti demolished many times,” Manisha says. “I can’t count how many times we built our homes again, from plastic sheets to tin and then brick. We just keep surviving.”

Even though the community has existed for decades, the settlement is still not officially recognised. Over the years, makeshift huts have evolved into sturdier tin-and-brick structures, but for residents, stability remains out of reach.

A large drain (naala) runs along the basti. When a nearby highway was constructed, residents were forced closer to this drainage line. Many families now live right beside it, where sewage frequently overflows. Health risks have risen sharply. Three children in Manisha’s neighbourhood have lost their lives while playing near the drain. Despite numerous surveys and promises from authorities, the threat of demolition never disappears.

Access to water has always been a major challenge. Although a pipeline runs through the area, it does not supply water to residents. For years, women like Manisha walked long distances, carrying heavy containers from three kilometres away just to meet their daily needs. Recently, they have managed to connect to the local pipeline, providing them with some relief.

Sanitation remains a more urgent crisis. In a settlement of about 450 households, there is not a single community toilet. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) once installed mobile toilets, but poor maintenance meant they soon fell into disuse. As a result, open defecation is common. Women, elderly people, and girls often have no option but to use roadside corners or bushes—an unsafe and undignified reality.

To protect her daughter, Manisha built a makeshift toilet beside her house by digging a small pit connected to the drain. She adds, “I know that the toilet I have made isn’t clean or safe or permanent, but at least my daughter doesn’t have to go outside.” For women like her, these small acts reflect both care and resistance in the face of failing systems.

Another growing concern in Jai Ambe Nagar is the rise in substance use among young men. Groups gather to drink or consume drugs, often leading to fights, harassment, or unsafe situations for women and girls. Eve-teasing is common, and the lanes become especially unsafe after dark.

The lack of lighting and absence of toilets forces women to step out at night, increasing the risk of gender-based violence. Worried about their safety and education, Manisha sent her daughter and son to her sister’s home. Many families, fearing similar risks, marry their daughters off early, believing that marriage will offer safety.

Despite these challenges, Manisha strongly believes in the power of education. Her daughter, 20, and son, 23, continue their studies with support from relatives. But children in the basti struggle to attend school regularly.

Without enough water for bathing or washing clothes, many children go to school without bathing or clean uniforms. This leads to embarrassment, stigma, and at times, absenteeism.

Girls face additional hurdles during menstruation. Sanitary pads are expensive, and soap is sometimes unaffordable. With no safe toilets, managing menstruation becomes stressful and unhygienic, leading to missed school days. Manisha remembers how her daughter struggled during COVID-19—NGOs distributed sanitary pads, but changing them inside their one-room house, with no privacy, was deeply uncomfortable.

Living next to an open drain exposes families to constant health threats—dengue, diarrhoea, skin infections, and respiratory problems. During monsoons, sewage mixes with rainwater and enters homes.

Older people and persons with disabilities face the worst of these conditions. Without toilets, family members must carry them outside, or they are forced to relieve themselves near their homes, often waiting for someone to help them.

Manisha’s story is ultimately one of courage, persistence, and quiet determination. She navigates daily challenges for access to water, sanitation, and dignity while still holding onto hope for a safer and more stable future for her children.

The Swachh Bharat Mission’s aim of making cities open-defecation-free cannot be achieved without acknowledging the lived experiences of people in informal settlements—and especially the gender-specific challenges women face.

Jai Ambe Nagar is a stark reminder of how gender, poverty, and structural inequality intersect. Yet it is also a powerful example of resilience and collective strength. Women in the community continue to demand what every Indian citizen deserves:

• a home that cannot be demolished,
• water that flows to every household, and
• a toilet that women can use safely and with dignity.

Their demands are simple—but essential.

— Nisha Rani, Programme Coordinator, CREA