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VOA新闻杂志2022--孟买旧公寓区的高楼大厦拔地而起

时间:2022-04-05 18:02来源:互联网 提供网友:nan   字体: [ ]
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High Rises Buildings Go up in Mumbai's Old Tenement1 Neighborhood

For Shailesh Kambli, a childhood dream is about to become reality. The 40-year-old Indian man lives in a 15-square-meter, one-room home in India's financial capital, Mumbai. It would not be too small -- if he lived alone.

But Kambli's parents, brother and his brother's wife all live there, too. Kambli represents the third generation of his family to live in the small, crowded home contained in an old building in much disrepair.

He said he always dreamed of living in a modern building.

"Whenever I went out, I wanted to own a house, however tiny, in one these buildings," Kambli recalls. "I even told my uncle that one day I will live in such a place."

Land far more valuable than buildings

Thousands of other Indian families live in similar spaces in an area of Mumbai called BDD Chawls. The 37-hectare area is dense2 with people and with tenements3 that were built about one hundred years ago.

Real estate in the area, however, is among the costliest4 in the world.

All around the BDD Chawls, business and residential5 development has expanded quickly in recent years. Mumbai is home to more than 20 million people.

Now, Kambli and others dreaming of new, better homes have a chance to see that dream come true.

Under a massive $2 billion redevelopment project, the 16,000 tenements like the one Kambli lives in will be destroyed and replaced with modern, high-rise buildings.

The project is part of major plans that Mumbai has long sought with limited success: to clear costly6 land of old, damaged buildings and replace them with tall buildings that include homes, offices and large market centers.

Some city planners, however, have raised concerns about the project and the pressure it could add to the city's weak infrastructure7.

BDD built before India's independence

Britain built the BDD Chawls during its colonial rule of India. It needed the rooms to house migrant cotton mill workers.

Inside most homes, a large cloth piece separates the counter at one end that serves as a kitchen from the rest of the space that serves as both a bedroom and a living room. Televisions are put over the bed or in a corner. Two bathrooms serve 20 rooms. The occupants pay the government a small amount every month for the homes.

Older people often spend their day in the long passageway that leads to the rooms or just outside on the grounds. They hang their wash to dry, or look after children when their parents go to work. There is a sense of community in the tenements, some residents say.

Lately, some residents have been visiting a model home in a nearby building to get an idea of what the future may look like for them.

"I don't know when my turn will come. It may still take years," said 55-year-old Bhagwan Sawant. He pointed8 to the kitchen and other parts of the model home. "It will be great to have a modern" home, he said.

The new complexes will also have a hospital, schools, and activity centers for sports. "The work has started on the first building and it will be ready in three years," said Prashant Dhatrak, the top engineer of the project. "But the entire development will take seven years."

It took more than 20 years to launch the project after it was first proposed. Some experts are warning that the huge project is moving too fast.

More private space, less community?

"Redevelopment is necessary, but rebuilding has to be done in a sustainable and environmentally friendly manner," said Sulakshana Mahajan. She was a member of the former Mumbai Transformation9 Support Unit, a state government policy group set up in 2005. It was involved in earlier proposals for the redevelopment of the tenements and shut down in 2019.

She said the early plans did not aim to increase density10 but to better house the existing residents. That is no longer the case, she said.

"Open spaces available per person will be drastically shrunk and distance between buildings is too little." Mahajan said. She argued that the project could create too much demand on city services such as water supply, waste removal and transportation.

In the BDD Chawls, most residents are more happy about the project than they are worried about it. There is a growing sense, however, that the redevelopment will end the communal11 way of life they have now.

"Here, I never have to worry about my mother. All of us work, but know that someone will look after her if she is unwell," said Kambli. But, when they close the door of their new home, he added, "no one will know what is happening inside."

Nearby, resident Ranjana Gurav laughs. "You just give one shout here and everyone gathers," she said. "When there are marriages or celebrations or a problem, we are all there to help each other."

Words in This Story

tiny -adj. very small

residential-adj. of or relating to a place where people live

tenement -n. a building divided into separate apartments for rent

real estate -n. property in buildings and land

infrastructure -n. the system of public works of a country, state, or region

sustainable -adj. of, relating to, or being a method of harvesting or using a resource so that the resource is not used up or permanently12 damaged

drastically -adv. severely or seriously


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 tenement Egqzd5     
n.公寓;房屋
参考例句:
  • They live in a tenement.他们住在廉价公寓里。
  • She felt very smug in a tenement yard like this.就是在个这样的杂院里,她觉得很得意。
2 dense aONzX     
a.密集的,稠密的,浓密的;密度大的
参考例句:
  • The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
  • The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。
3 tenements 307ebb75cdd759d238f5844ec35f9e27     
n.房屋,住户,租房子( tenement的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Here were crumbling tenements, squalid courtyards and stinking alleys. 随处可见破烂的住房、肮脏的庭院和臭气熏天的小胡同。 来自辞典例句
  • The tenements are in a poor section of the city. 共同住宅是在城中较贫苦的区域里。 来自辞典例句
4 costliest 72fb0b90632e34d78a38994b0f302c1a     
adj.昂贵的( costly的最高级 );代价高的;引起困难的;造成损失的
参考例句:
  • At 81 billion dollars, Katrina is the costliest natural disaster in American history. “卡特里娜”飓风造成了近810亿美圆的损失,是美国历史上最严重的自然灾难之一。 来自互联网
  • Senator John Kerry has proposed a tax on the costliest health plans sold by insurance companies. 参议员约翰?克里(JohnKerry)已经提议对保险公司销售的高价值的保险计划征税。 来自互联网
5 residential kkrzY3     
adj.提供住宿的;居住的;住宅的
参考例句:
  • The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
  • The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。
6 costly 7zXxh     
adj.昂贵的,价值高的,豪华的
参考例句:
  • It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
  • This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用,左不过贵了些。
7 infrastructure UbBz5     
n.下部构造,下部组织,基础结构,基础设施
参考例句:
  • We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
  • We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设,发展各类群众文化。
8 pointed Il8zB4     
adj.尖的,直截了当的
参考例句:
  • He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
  • She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。
9 transformation SnFwO     
n.变化;改造;转变
参考例句:
  • Going to college brought about a dramatic transformation in her outlook.上大学使她的观念发生了巨大的变化。
  • He was struggling to make the transformation from single man to responsible husband.他正在努力使自己由单身汉变为可靠的丈夫。
10 density rOdzZ     
n.密集,密度,浓度
参考例句:
  • The population density of that country is 685 per square mile.那个国家的人口密度为每平方英里685人。
  • The region has a very high population density.该地区的人口密度很高。
11 communal VbcyU     
adj.公有的,公共的,公社的,公社制的
参考例句:
  • There was a communal toilet on the landing for the four flats.在楼梯平台上有一处公共卫生间供4套公寓使用。
  • The toilets and other communal facilities were in a shocking state.厕所及其他公共设施的状况极其糟糕。
12 permanently KluzuU     
adv.永恒地,永久地,固定不变地
参考例句:
  • The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
  • The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。
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