Inside The Lives Of Delhi's Railway Slums

Approximately 52 slums are constructed on the railway land, which houses about 47,000 dwelling units in New Delhi, India 

According to the railways, 600,000 sq m of land has been illegally occupied by slum dwellers across the city. 

More than 24,000 shanties have been built in north and north-west districts. In East, South and South-West Delhi, around 18,000 jhuggis [slum dwelling] have been raised in last few years.

Raju, a slum dweller originally from Rajasthan said: “I have been living here for nearly 40 years. Twice our shanties were bulldozed but somehow we got the approval of authorities to live here."

“After all these years, we finally have electric supply. Earlier, both electricity and water used to be big issues for us.”

With hundreds of thousands of people inhabiting the vacant land adjacent to railway tracks in Delhi, more than 4,000 people have died in accidents during the last seven years.

Gautam who lives in a shanty on the platform said: “We have seen people dying on these tracks. One of my cousin died when he was crossing the track. He was deaf.”

He said:”I know its dangerous to live here. But we don’t have any other option. We are poor people and can’t afford to live in colonies.”

According to the Right To Information filed, more than 25,000 bodies could not be identified as they were mutilated after being trampled upon by trains.

A driver of a local train said: “We have to go slow in most of the areas as people usually sit on the tracks.”

“People have constructed shanties too close to the tracks. Their children usually play on these tracks. They don’t care if it’s legal. It’s a playground for them."

Out of 47,000 shanties constructed on railway land in Delhi, about 24,500 violate the safety zone, which stretches to 15 metres around the outermost track.

The slum dwellers living on the railway platforms are branded as encroachers who often struggle hard to earn for their families.