India's Tenuous Housing

[MrBlueSky]

An elevated view shows illegal buildings (painted white) in the Bholenath Nagar area in Thane district on the outskirts of Mumbai April 10, 2013. A shortage of affordable housing
in Indian cities has led to rampant illegal construction by developers using cheap materials and shoddy methods in order to offer low-cost homes to low-paid workers,
paying bribes to officials to turn a blind eye. Despite several promises by the government to build affordable homes for India's poor in densely populated cities, the country's
urban housing shortage is estimated at nearly 19 million households. That lack of affordable housing is especially acute in Mumbai, India's financial capital and home to some
of the world's costliest real estate, where an estimated six out of every 10 people live in slums. REUTERS/Vivek Prakash

Aslamkhan Bikankha, 28, (C) walks up the staircase in an illegal building in which he lives in Thane district on the outskirts of Mumbai
April 10, 2013. REUTERS/Vivek Prakash


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[MrBlueSky]

Afreen (R), 12, sits as her niece Anam, 2, sleeps on a mattress on the floor of their flat in an illegal building in which he lives in Thane district
on the outskirts of Mumbai April 10, 2013. REUTERS/Vivek Prakash

An illegal building which was demolished in the "Lucky Compound", where a building collapsed last week, is pictured in Thane district
on the outskirts of Mumbai April 10, 2013. REUTERS/Vivek Prakash


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[MrBlueSky]

Sania, 25, sits underneath a line of clothes hung up to dry in the living room of their flat in an illegal building located next to the site of a building which collapsed last week,
in Thane district on the outskirts of Mumbai April 10, 2013. REUTERS/Vivek Prakash

A woman tends to a baby sleeping in a hanging cot in the living room of a flat in an illegal building located next to the site of a building which collapsed last week
in Thane district on the outskirts of Mumbai April 10, 2013. REUTERS/Vivek Prakash


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[MrBlueSky]

People walk past an illegal building which was demolished in the "Lucky Compound", where a building collapsed last week, in Thane district on the outskirts
of Mumbai April 10, 2013. REUTERS/Vivek Prakash

Two children stand in the hallway of a flat in an illegal building located next to site of a building which collapsed last week in Thane district on the outskirts
of Mumbai April 10, 2013. REUTERS/Vivek Prakash


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[MrBlueSky]

Rescue workers watch as rubble is shifted by earthmoving equipment at the site of the collapse of a residential building in Thane district,
on the outskirts of Mumbai April 6, 2013. REUTERS/Vivek Prakash

Rescue workers use a stretcher to carry the body of a victim across the rubble after the collapse of a residential building in Thane district,
on the outskirts of Mumbai April 6, 2013. REUTERS/Vivek Prakash


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[MrBlueSky]

A girl who was injured during the collapse of a residential building, lies on a hospital bed in Thane district,
on the outskirts of Mumbai April 5, 2013. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui

A rescue worker takes a break on the rubble of a collapsed residential building during a search for survivors in Thane district,
on the outskirts of Mumbai April 5, 2013. REUTERS/Vivek Prakash


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[MrBlueSky]

Sandhya, a four-year-old girl who was injured during the collapse of a residential building, rests with a social worker on a hospital bed in Thane district,
on the outskirts of Mumbai April 5, 2013. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui

Rescue workers search through the rubble of a collapsed residential building for survivors in Thane district,
on the outskirts of Mumbai April 5, 2013. REUTERS/Vivek Prakash


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[MrBlueSky]

A rescue worker carries the body of a child who was recovered from the rubble a day after the collapse of a residential building in Thane district,
on the outskirts of Mumbai April 5, 2013. REUTERS/Vivek Prakash

Rescue workers search for survivors at the site of a collapsed residential building in Thane,
on the outskirts of Mumbai April 4, 2013. REUTERS/Vivek Prakash


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