MUMBAI: Thirty-eight year-old Taufiq Siddiqui, a resident of Mumbai’s Dharavi slum, keeps a list of grocery items on his phone.
But when he steps out to shop, he buys only one item at a time, Siddiqui confessed. This, he says, gives him an excuse to step out of his shanty and breathe freely.
Siddiqui's home comprises 220 sq.ft near Dharavi's Jama Masjid that he shares with his 12-member family. Amid the lockdown, he says, finding a place to even sit has become tough.
Given that practicing self quarantine and social distancing are practically unviable for Mumbai’s slum dwellers like Siddiqui, the state government has booked rooms in local lodges, and turned sports complexes and schools into covid-19 care facilities.