Cheetah Camp

Cheetah Camp likes on the eastern most edge of the island of Mumbai, in Trombay. It was created in order to make space for the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) during 1976. It is said that the people of Janta Colony, who then occupied the present day site of BARC were evicted rapidly by a large police force. The last patch of Janta Colony remained within the BARC colony until 1980s, as one of the residents informed us. 

The Headmaster of the Cheetah Camp told us that the people who live in Cheetah Camp originally came as labourers from Kerala in the Docks of Mumbai in the south and used to stay lining up the streets off the dockyard. Eventually, they moved to the Janta Colony in Trombay.  Presently, about 84% of the people in Janta Colony are Muslims, 3% Christians and remaining are of different religions. The settlement is thus predominantly Muslim, and has grown densely over the years. The land has been made habitable by the sheer effort of the community. The name 'Cheetah' got associated with the camp due to its proximity to the military field nearby. 

The camp is organized through a network of wider streets and narrow lanes. The wider streets are used for vehicular movement and parking whereas the narrow lanes interconnect these. The houses are densely packed along these extremely narrow lanes. Some of these less-than-one-metre wide narrow lanes are lined on both sides with 100 houses on each side. 

Several local institutions have grown over the years in order to cater to the community. Earlier schooling happened in madrasas for the Islamic community children. However, as they grew, their absorption into the mainstream schools became difficult. Hence several municipal schools were started so that they could aid the transition of these kids within formal state educational machinery. 

These facilities are supported by various kinds of agencies including NGOs, community trusts, local politicians, government schemes and such other channels. The community is a closely knit social space. Over the years, the fabric has consolidated fairly, however, there are constant efforts in order to upgrade and add essential infrastructure within the community such as toilets, medical facilities, higher education schools, etc.