Eco India: How Dharavi's Kolis use an age-old method to continue fishing in Mumbai's dirtiest river

Every week, Eco India brings you stories of innovations from across India and Europe, and the people who make them possible. Our top story takes you to the Mithi estuary to reveal Mumbai's best kept secret.
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CREDITS:
With Research Inputs From: Gautam Kirtane
Supervising Producer: Nooshin Mowla
Director of Photography: Omkar Phatak
Video Editor: Sujit Lad
Field Producer and Researcher: James Roy
Assistant Producers: Dewang Trivedi, Shibika Suresh
Script and Executive Producer: Sannuta Raghu
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Eco India is a co-production between DW and Scroll.in. You can watch the full episodes on scroll.in/ecoindia
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[@haronmenezes4562]

Scroll is one of the most Underrated channels. Y'all have one of the best Documentary, wish y'all the best in your Future documentaries and stories.🙂

[@ravin2363]

I have lived in Mumbai and I have heard people say that it actually used to be a river but now it is just a sewage drain for the city. After the development of Bandra - kurla complex due to extreme encroachment this river has lost more than half of its catchment. It is funny that after destroying natural water channels city complains about frequent flooding. When you have closed the only channels for the water to go, where do you think the water will go? It will come inside your house and take you away with it. Is it so hard to understand?

[@wmw8867]

Mumbai esp suburbs are nothing but open gutters & Garbage dumps. It's literally unplanned. Almost all household & human waste + Industrial waste gets dumped into the sea or river or goes into land reclamation.

[@wmw8867]

Most of Mumbai stands on land reclaimed with Garbage & people's attitude towards the city reflects the same - plenty garbage & open sewage. Old Mumbai settled by British Raj still has remnants of planning. Suburbs in several areas are inhabitable if hygiene, clean living & environment are to be considered.

[@nitinshinde2974]

Yer Thats Right.

[@madhurshinde4988]

It has its source from vihar Lake

[@eggbenedict-gt7mw]

It is sewage

[@apoorvjaiswal3760]

Even , we need startups like OCEAN CLEANUP. If you agree , then reply.

[@saisathya6274]

Do you know anything about it?

[@parthdalvi7310]

How can you generate profit from that????

[@aadityaunni8202]

@@parthdalvi7310Mumbai has grown its business but with cost of nature, hardcore business community polluted the city's environment.......... Bcoz of business minded people like you Mumbai has been largely destroyed it's natural habitat, who always want money and profit........ Business people lacks environment concerns & people emotion......

[@karthikarumugam95]

Swach bharat is not just using a broom

[@aloma1501]

A big thanks to the Koli community. We do not realise how much we are polluting our rivers because our livelihood does not depend on it. Thank you sir for the revelation. Hope to see the Mithi river cleaner in the future. 🙏

[@thusharamurari7802]

Great intitative ..eco india keep on going ...best best channel you are

[@dharakfopare7323]

Yes brother, it shows positive side of india.

[@ronakpujara3843]

This channel is a gem. So underrated

[@garnetgun]

I used to stay nearby to the Mithi river while my architectural degree at Sir J.J. hostel. You can't really tell that it's a river!!!! A friend of mine did his final year thesis dissertation on Mithi river. He proposed it to be a recreational place as it's unused and there are limited points of entry. Sometimes I used to see cleanup of the silt with those floating diggers. But the pileup of the waste is a major issue for this river, you can actually see bed of garbage when the river is dry like that man said.

[@artirana3241]

Wouldn't it be easier to clean when dry ,once cleaned heavy fines should be imposed for polluting it

[@AGknowStick]

Our callousness to the preservation of natural treasure has made us starving vultures. We have left no stone unturned to suck out the beauty of being natural. We have failed in discharging the duties of being human. Spiritual crisis, consumerism and our determination to fall in trap of occidental influences has been instrumental in ruining the natural asset of this planet. But anyway, Nature has its own 'course correction mechanism'. It will take a turn and everything will be fine and restored to normalcy but, of course, for a hefty price. That price will be our lives and lives of thousand other species. I really wish people rise to the occasion and make constant little efforts to make mother Earth better place to live in.

[@chandanhoonmain]

I must say you summed it up damn well. I completely second your thoughts.

[@AGknowStick]

@@chandanhoonmain Thanks brother.

[@AGknowStick]

@Alkrizz Thanks brother for reminding me about my profile pic. That is an old photograph which I uploaded when I had made my Gmail account. And that bike is certainly not mine. It was parked at some vehicle stand 🙈. And so far as ecology and economy are concerned, I must say that they hold a very strained relationship in 21st Century. But on a personal level we can structure our lives in a way that we consume (resources) very less. Let us own what we need Let us eat what we need Let us spend where we need As Mahatma Gandhi rightly said, 'there is enough on this planet to meet the need of the people but not enough to meet the greed of the people.'

[@vickyrajchudasama4173]

Awareness is must for such a cause, How Mumbaikars can be so insensitive towards their own natural resources.?? Needs a Drastic Change in the efforts to revive the rivers of India.

[@wmw8867]

Ask Tourists abt India - most will say it's dirty with people throwing Garbage / trash anywhere + Spitting anywhere.

[@wmw8867]

In India it's easy to find people who indulge in filthy unhygienic living with little or no awareness or concern for environment or public spaces

[@ShaktiRajput33]

This series is everything for my Sunday.. thanks 🙂

[@lokeshanand3848]

Bangalore river needs this kind of care .... Please pressure the GOVT .........GREAT WORK FRIENDS..........

[@hcakash7161]

Pressurising the government isn't the best solution. The residents of the city are responsible for whatever pollution problems we are facing now. The only solution is.. We have to act responsible by not polluting our natural resources.. That's the only solution we have..

[@బైబై-ర3థ]

Lokesh Anand . Bengaluru Road Turuvekere

[@stevepicardo6183]

This project needs a lot of funding and spreading awareness about this Mumbai is beautiful trust

[@limitlesssikhterahobj813]

The channel deserves better..go ahead I m sure...u will complete 1M subscriber soon.all the best & very good job .

[@jagermeisterbomb1543]

door to door collection of segregated waste from commercial and non commercial areas along with recycling, reuse , reduce mindset and sewage treatment will clean every major and minor streams flowing through our cities

[@ganeshthevar1241]

From my home mithi nadhi it's just 2 min distance I feel sad all the time when I see it.i Wish it was as the people said says it's use to be in olden days

[@mzml4696]

Same way Chennai has spoiled River Cooum, which was once a clean flowing water. It seems every coastal city has a story like this.

[@pravinkoli4585]

Plz keep north indians out of chennai and i am native people of mumbai

[@Thor-lp5wq]

@@pravinkoli4585 how can you say it done by north indian? See the maharashtra population, it is second most populated state.

[@siddh3921]

Good documentary on real issues 🙌

[@hemangpatel8013]

I like your eco series

[@vaibhavshelke709]

Negligence of local authority , excess migration, increased slums are the reason for such situation...

[@lapulga365]

Curated research, excellent presentation - please upload more content :)

[@tradersjournal760]

There must be a recycling industry. Very soon and we need it in every corner of our country. More awearness and deciplinery actions should be implemented. People have to get rid of waste from there home, but proper planning can keep our environment clean.

[@AkshardhamNewDelhi]

Its crazy how one of the richest people in India live in Mumbai but still they don't care about their surroundings but only about their empire , creating more and more money.Very very few Mumbaikars are doing a change for such big problems. :(

[@pramithghosh2644]

Very Good Job DW .🙏 Namaste We Need Mass Media Like You. Not Like NDTV Or Any Kind Of Deshdrohi News Channel

[@prabalhazarika191]

Idiot.

[@sanjaynarayan5516]

Same situation in banglore , really feel sorry for vrishabhavathi river here,its just 2min from my home but totally polluted 😔

[@pallavidas5067]

thanks for this documentary. I feel deeply for the plight of the rivers, wetlands, fishing community owing to the indifferent governments and their lack of vision. india is a classic case study of apathy, bad governance and disempowerment of the local communities...

[@samy6833]

@Pallavi Das ppl throw garbage in the river & blame gov for it

[@cptsartajsingh696]

I Am From Koli Community & I Loved Ur Documentary

[@viks510]

Good documentary!!! Plz do similar documentary on the lost arkavathy river of bengaluru

[@rapatel1642]

Build sewage treatment plants to divert the sewage. Treat it. Get rid of the slums rehabilitate the slum dwellers and in a nearby location build a recycling area so the dharavi dwellers can continue to work ie, recycle the waste but ensure they have the facilities to do that in a safe way. With the vacant space turn it into a green space widen the river so it doesn't flood in Mumbai.

[@athulk___]

Great initiative 💚💚💚

[@TheAjstyle65]

It feels like urban planning and waste management must have been an amendment in our Constitution long time back any expansion of commercial or residential land should be accoutable of the waste it's going to generate and it's effect on the environment.

[@subhamchoudhury3124]

Give Mumbai,Navi Mumbai,Thane A Separate Govt.Like New Delhi In My Opinion.

[@anuragsom09]

Well covered, hope people understand this and come forward to save mithi river

[@MrAshishjaiswal12345]

So sad to see what we have done to our surroundings.

[@chinmaysutagatti540]

My city too suffers from a similar issue,for years I thought that the Bedthi river was nothing more than a meagre waste dump for Hubli encroached by weed(the legal kind).

[@Tilak-Chatterjee]

Good Job DW Lov wish for the best

[@VVVedic]

हम लोग part by part,पानी रोक के उसे clean क्र सकते है।यहा का पानी साफ होगा,तो locals के लिये fishing oppourtunity बनेगी।और city सुन्दर भी लगेगी और tourism में भी फायदा होगा।

[@milindkhamkar]

Well directed documentary. Feels very disgusting that there nothing left to Mumbai's most of the rivers to get dirty anymore and the level it contains waste

[@errolfurtado1592]

Where one man puts his heart and soul in cleaning the river , the other keeps polluting it ,sad to see things fading right in front of our eyes

[@arpansaha8969]

This is a solvable problem..Putting a dozen bio digestors,dredging the river,and turning it into a navigable waterway,will automatically turn it into a free flowing clean river..It can be done with a budget of 2-3000 crore..If Ganga project can be done,this can also be done..

[@TheUndertaker2408]

Mr.Tweezy007 ganga project isnt a failure for ganga you need alot of planning alot of things needs to be done in that 1000+ km riverflow, first of all their are building toilets in the villaged and cities around it, than building the seweragsplants to stop the dirty drains flow into the river, building ghats, after that comes surface cleaning, which obviously will take time, the project is working so dont talk bullshit here

[@TheUndertaker2408]

Mr.Tweezy007 ofcourse it didnt help much because 90 percent is still underway? Gadkari promised there will be a significant change in the end of 2019, i trust him because groundwork is being done, when it took years to make the gangs dirty, it wil also take years to clean it up, wheres your patience?

[@syedmohdgulamasghar8809]

Work of fishing man & activist is appreciatable . Why not other people and government contribute the working hand's.

[@gaurav.soni1989]

Why people like Ambanis don't look into this big issue.. If govt is unwilling to clean it.. people like them must take initiatives to bring change so that life can survive there.

[@ravin2363]

Because they have built their own homes on encroached lands.

[@moneyworld6706]

You throw dirt and tell other to clean.donate your one day

[@DevendraKumar9]

What are you doing? That's the problem with indians, they look at others to do the shit, but they themselves don't do anything improve India.

[@ravan.666]

What are we doing about it that's more important - Ambani ,Tata or the government is not to be blamed, but we as citizens are, take an oath from today, I won't litter garbage.

[@soumyakantaskp5723]

Bhai ambani ka nhi hum logo ka jarurat he , hum jitna km ganda karenge apna surrounding utna accha rhega

[@cadworld5783]

Is there no way to clean it????please give solutions

[@allthingsfascinating]

A very good morning to all y'all wonderful folks from a fellow KZbinr!

[@gadetmartin1495]

It's a natural canal for the flood. Don't let it get shallower and shallower!

[@saxenachetan1989]

Even this video seems to have failed in spreading its message, reach the audience. Hope right measures are taken to revive the river. Small efforts count.

[@MySNova]

Great production. Thanks Scroll.in

[@indianetizen]

Real inhabitants of the place we call Mumbai.

[@darshanjk5191]

Same scenario with vrushabavathi @Bangalore but there is no fishing

[@shambhulingsheelvanth3507]

Ur doing very great work

[@allanegleston4931]

remove all non pourus surfaces . plant green roofs make more green space even if its in a single auto parking space . reopen the old water channels and make a sewage treatment plant .

[@ajaymoktan9283]

That's my Incredible India👌🏻

[@jyothipk7334]

Metro officer said need better transportation.no need of good air and water.where they are running.go to hell or heaven.this type of developing result India become sahara.in Africa.pray for our Mumbai and India.hats of to you guys.Jyothi nair from palakkad kerala

[@paridhiagarwal5677]

It’s a shame that Mumbai being such a big industrial city, doesn’t do anything for its ecological conservation.. civic bodies and ngos should collaborate to make the city a more habitable place to dwell

[@బైబై-ర3థ]

Paridhi Agarwal hi

[@prokrishtinator6786]

BMC needs to look into this matter ...we can't loose our natural resources like this just imagine how beautiful it will look after it gets clean ....and kolis living there can actually make good money and that will be another reason for happiness

[@chandanchandra4819]

Untold story being discovered. Thanks for uploading this video. I was totally unaware of the fact.

[@shaillesh_tannu]

India has current issues as; Garbage Water Pollution Rather focusing on religious things we should work on the *actual* problem areas, it's not only government but also the people

[@exismys]

You're right! I'm sick. Shut the fuck up everyone and go contribute to the nation in real means instead of talking politics and religion. Work, Work and Work and become an example yourself. Don't expect anyone to improve anything. Reach to that level and do it yourself.

[@statusadda4201]

The main reason for all these issues are increase and increase in population.. Now we cross 1.4 billion

[@amitmangsulikar7153]

For out sider's mumbai is just money making machine but for native it's their motherland

[@vin2538]

I don't know how population of a city increases with the increase in ......... .

[@yogeshdesai5999]

Mithi river makes Mahim creek one of the most polluted creeks in the world.

[@Drawwithauto]

Fishing out plastic is a necessity for the world now.

[@surajbiradar9827]

India's own vice👌👌👌

[@VVVedic]

Mumbai में efficient sewage treatment plant और drainage system की ज़रूरत है।और waste को beaches या कोई भी water body में डालने पर strict law और fine के साथ इसे सही implementकरने के लिये लोग भी हो,जो देखरेख करे।

[@బైబై-ర3థ]

Rahul RB Lodhi 😂 ✌ sure

[@manrajdeepsingh8589]

Gr8 job by you for nature.....

[@mohit2010ify]

India need a lot of Sewage treatment plant in every city. And a strong policy in dealing with Industries and households that create pollution and filth.

[@cateatsdog604]

Very expensive to have good stps

[@leenaslittleworld9906]

Govt should take step for waste management...

[@yash2363]

Excellent video

[@Vedrajrm]

why is there a DW logo?

[@vineetnagavi3689]

Just picking waste is not enough....mithi river must be transformed completely starting from powai lake to the sea....As the activist in video said....A part must be made for recreation and other part for small scale fishery.....Even commercial fishery by corporate companies must be banned

[@huchchappababasahebreshmi7400]

Respected sir please give importance nature changes.

[@sultanaltamash3270]

Good Journalism

[@zerotwo_.002]

The problem is not the quick development but the problem is the inability of the govt to enforce pollution control measures

[@chandanchandra4819]

And yes, it's very dreadful situation there bcz of mega city pressure

[@k_gulposh]

Is it the same Stalin on whom Kala's(Rajnikant's movie based on Dharavi) Stalin was based?

[@telugumovieadda1013]

Good

[@arkadipta100]

There should be cleaning of these rivers properly and installation of sewage treatment plants for all the sewage in mumbai...there have to be implementation of laws about not to do these pollution ...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@mohamedashique8654]

They can use it for agriculture, make waterways to transport and tourism if they wish to do

[@prokrishtinator6786]

Without cleaning our natural resources you cannot think of smart cities ... before building metros and fly overs ..look into this matter please...

[@rohitsingh555]

Fishing story without a single glimpse of fish... Very strange and of course a half hearted endeavor

[@vish2ume]

Sad reality of humanity.

[@amanforyou9493]

Nice video 👍 👌

[@mohit2010ify]

I don’t understand is it so hard for gov to apply master plan in Dharavi make it a high rise for the inhabitants and revamp river and beautify the whole area. Gov plz uplift the image of Mumbai in the eyes of world , this is just shame. We can do it if we have the will. It is the lack of will and care for our surrounding and our own people.

[@sumedhbengale7842]

How are the fishes living in there???

[@adityavhatkar5669]

This is my mama❤❤

[@cinderellaman7534]

Wish they take a lead from keralas book.

[@mhatrekrunal60]

Can i get Dayanand Kolli's contact?

[@AkashSharma-sb4hx]

But indian people just want mandirs instead of these cleaning rivers

[@anshulmishra5521]

True. We will make mandirs along the rivers. Then we will call the river 'holy' or 'maa'. Then we will dump waste from the city, tanneries, industries, etc into the river. It is no exaggeration, but sometimes I am ashamed to be a Hindu. My Hindu religion taught the world about Atma, Karma, Purity and Serenity. But what have we done! We call rivers holy, yet dump shit in there.

[@DrAshishPradhan]

Unnecessary comment and unrelated to this topic.

[@samiabdul9754]

What about 3000 crore statue and other proposed ones

[@SauravStatingFacts]

@@AkashSharma-sb4hx abe chutiya Bharat Me 30000 mosque v hai aur madir sarkar ke paise ka nhi hai..people just wants land

[@shivamprajapati8344]

@@samiabdul9754 Hahahah Its major portion is funded by Gujrat government u fool

[@r1599999]

I know the pain of this community. we need to respect them as they have suffer more which is ignored there village destroy by greedy people

[@bindaasmard664]

I am born and brought up in Mumbai, some says its the best city in India which is absolutely true considering some general aspects but its one of the worst place to live on earth all thanks to India's population explosion and mass migration happening from within and outside the Maharashtra state, the illiterate, corrupt and greedy politicians are making things far more worst as time goes by. I remember taking local train around 7:00 AM on everyday basis from Kandivali during my elementary school days which used to be completely empty at that time, a year ago when I tried to board same train I had to literally wrestle my way into train, the crowd was insane even at 7:00 AM !!!! Its utter shame that in country of over 130 crores (as of Dec-2018) we have less than half dozen cities providing employment to masses, no need to mention most of these cities are from western and southern India. When ever I board a bus or train moving out of Mumbai its always empty on the other hand when I am on way back to Mumbai the situation is completely opposite no matter what month of year or season it is. We got limited amount of land in this country, which is not gone grow like our useless pathetic population. China is roughly size of USA and yet they introduced much strict and stronger measures to control their population many years ago. India which is just 3 times smaller when compared to China/USA is set to become the most populated country on planet earth (its alredy the most polluted one), its nothing but utter shame to have that title. Its high time that respective state and central gov impart strict and solid measures to curb ever growing population else what is show in this video about mithi river could happen to every other natural resource that we have.

[@బైబై-ర3థ]

OMG indian mumbai. 👌

[@CartoonistVikrant]

good video

[@ranjanamit997]

human without knowledge is pile of garbage. people should realise what we have done to our surroundings

[@ApurvPirke]

Extremely pained to see this. This isn't development. We really don't deserve this planet. What's wrong with us humans??

[@ApurvPirke]

Mumbai me sab log rehte hai. Including Punjabis. Aur Punjab me bhi toh kheto me aag lagate ho jisse Delhi me pollution hota hai.

[@rpnick8597]

@@ApurvPirke bhava this is because fucking north indians especially fucking bhaiyyas migrate in huge numbers. The migration is not in a limit. There is a limit to everything. Even nature has a limit. These fucking assholes destroyed our mumbai we should never forgot this. Pakistan is not our real enemy. The real enemy is within.

[@pravinkoli4585]

@@rpnick8597 north indians and bangladeshi

[@pravinkoli4585]

@@rpnick8597 tai lokan ni kela sagla

[@chinmayjoshi3592]

correct bhava. if migration is controlled, we can correct such consequences

[@mygeneratedcontent]

Landfilling is a major problems in Mumbai. This is coz of a weak & even weaker Govt & implementation. There's so much land in Mumbai but everyone wants to live in the heart - Y. There's poor connectivity to outskirts. Roads Rails are getting smaller with no proper water ways. Underground Metro is a hit in much weaker unstable lands of Hong Kong. Residential building, Palais Royale Worli and many failed towers looted people wanting to live in the centre of Mumbai at any cost. The rising migratory population adds to the weight of Mumbai. BKC built on the creek is a land mark which destroyed the creek channels. After many years of waiting even Godrej has started with Ghatkopar & surrounding. Many individuals apart from construction co's are filling lands along the creek night after night. Under the pretext of plant nurseries in every corner of Mumbai all night 10's of trucks ferry debris into the creek channels. It is a fact that only way for Indian British Army to Mumbai was swimming before they started ferries.

[@xdxd525]

Side-effects of population explosion

[@kraut1982]

The city grows and the original inhabitants are suffering.

[@dewert2]

Great documentary, but you need to hire narrators with less of an accent, it is quite hard to listen too sometimes. otherwise great content

[@chandanhoonmain]

When these rivers are dying, we are bombarded with advertisement, pop songs and unhealthy political discourse. We keep paying attention to the unimportant things and paying our money and mind to these things. We must realise that this cannot go on like this forever. We reside in the cities which are sucking up the water that belongs to the rural areas. Supply water system is the backbone for the people living in cities. We have become numb towards it and its not a desirable situation to be in. We have been given democracy by our forefathers and we must not insult it. Though, I don't know the clear way forward but the young minds of our nation is the asset our country that will be the treasure in coming years. Responsibility is the word we must live by in all social aspects of our lives. This land has given us so much, its high time we think seriously about giving it back.

[@evilchaperone]

So sad and infuriating. Such beauty.

[@peacock69mcp]

Swachh-Ganga-abhiyaan should be implemented for cleaning up all the rivers of the world. This is very pathetic.