Mumbai: “It has been nearly 2.5 months since they (the Mumbai Port Authority and Police) broke our homes. But we refuse to die anywhere else. We built this land, and we will die on it too,” says Vasantal Ramalingam Harijan, a 75-year-old Tamizh woman, sitting next to the plot where her 60-year-old house once stood. She stares at the endless sea of rubble that stretches all the way to the ocean – over 400 lives destroyed within hours. At 7 am on May 12, 2026, the Mumbai Port Authority (MbPT) and Mumbai Police demolished more than 110 homes on New Tank Road, Darukhana. Residents say the police erected multiple rows of barricades as early as 3 am, and within hours, pulled people out of their homes, locked the doors, and bulldozed all the houses. Since that day, those evicted have refused to leave the area as they protest for justice. Many families continue to live on the roadside in protest despite heatwaves, extreme flooding and police crackdown. “The entire country is looking at Delhi, and they should. But where is the outrage for this injustice done to us that has destroyed ours and our children’s lives? It has been more than 70 days since our homes were broken, and we are still sitting on the road in the heat and rain. We put up tin sheds at night and MbPT people come to break it every morning,” shares Durai Raj, 46, with tears in his eyes. Durai’s father was one of the first to settle on New Tank Road, Darukhana after migrating from Arukiri, Kudullur, Tamil Nadu for work on the MbPT Ports before India’s independence. The Mumbai Port Authority (MbPT) was established by British Rule in 1873 as the Bombay Port Trust to facilitate the movement of goods through India’s western coast. After Independence, it was placed under purview of the Union government. From the 1990s onwards, ports under its control slowly shut down as the more modern Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT) in Uran gained prominence. Yet, the MbPT continues to control vast swathes of land – approximately 752 hectares of land along Mumbai’s 28-km eastern waterfront from Colaba to Wadala – and is known to be one of the biggest landlords in Mumbai, leasing land to posh real estate developers and the Taj Hotel at a pittance of a price. Darukhana falls within the jurisdiction of the MbPT, and the area has multiple ports such as Lakdi Bunder, Coal Bunder and Tank Bunder. Since MbPT’s founding, thousands of workers were brought from across India to build and run its ports. Without any housing provided by MbPT, workers resorted to constructing their own homes on the same land without any water, electricity, schools or other amenities, all of which were finally provided by the state after years of struggle by citizen groups such as the Pani Haq Sangharsh Samiti.Today, more than 50,000 families live on MbPT land, and around 6,000 families live in the New Tank Road, Darukhana area alone. According to people living in Darukhana, the majority of residents are Dalit and Muslim, from across Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bengal and Bihar. They possess all valid government documents such as voter IDs, ration cards and birth certificates, and many have had family members who worked for the port itself. “I used to build and repair trucks, the kinds that carried shipping containers for MbPT,” says Sirfaan Sheikh Suleman, whose 70-year-old house was demolished on May 12. “I shifted here from Kanpur just after independence. I even have documents from before 1995.” Sirfaan Sheikh Suleman shows his documents from 1995. Photo: Anjali DFor decades, the Indian state extracted the labour of migrants at low rates to build and run its ports, allowing workers and their families to build houses on the land so they could continue to work on the ports. Now, with its ports no longer functional, residents say the MbPT has ‘no use’ for them anymore and wants to monetise its land at their expense. In line with this argument, the MbPT has unveiled projects worth Rs 5,028.17 crore as part of its Eastern Waterfront redevelopment plan that traces its origins back to Nitin Gadkari’s 2014 vision of marinas, floating hotels, cruise terminals and “world-class” luxury tourism. The 470 crore Mumbai Marina Project – 424 yacht berths across a 12-hectare sea area – that likely overlaps with the Darukhana area, has already received bids from the Adani Group, Larsen & Toubro, and three other major infrastructure companies and has a completion target of January 2029.“These demolitions are all part of clearing land for big players like Adani under the Sagarmala programme,” a member of the Mumbai Port Ghar Haq Sangharsh Samiti (MPGHSS), a resident’s committee fighting slum demolitions across MbPT land, tells The Wire. “If you look at the notices served to residents, there is no precise address. It just says ‘New Tank Road’. We have been told by members of the Sewri police that their original plan was to demolish many more homes – and they would have, had it not been for our resistance.”Despite Mumbai’s severe vulnerability to rising sea-levels and extreme weather patterns, we continue to witness large-scale commercial projects being introduced in Mumbai – increasing impermeable surface cover and heat, reducing coastal vegetation and mangroves and concentrating infrastructure on a shoreline already exposed to climate disasters. Meanwhile, those displaced by such projects are pushed further out of the city to places like Titwala, Nallasopara, Vasai and Panvel that are even more prone to climate impacts, all while dealing with the anxiety, grief and financial stress of being dispossessed. What we are seeing is a state that systematically makes its already vulnerable working-class and caste-marginalised citizens even more climate-vulnerable in the name of development.May 12 demolition and the violent aftermathA month before the demolition, on April 17, the MbPT pasted backdated eviction notices on approximately 150 homes on New Tank Road. The notices were vague; they were not addressed to any specific individual or address and specified no statutory provisions. On the morning of April 28, multiple bulldozers and police forces gathered at New Tank Road to demolish houses. In response, residents staged a massive protest and blockaded the road, preventing the demolition from taking place. Residents stop the police and bulldozers on 28th April 2026. Photo: By arrangementThat same night, police in civilian clothes entered people’s homes, forced residents to sign notices without explanation and summoned women to the police station in the middle of the night. Throughout the next day, 13 police cars and at least 20 uniformed officers patrolled the entire road, isolating and targeting individuals who had been part of the protest. A few days later, an FIR was registered against 14 residents by the Sewri Police (Case No. 199/2026), under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, and Maharashtra Police (Amendment) Act, 2015. Despite letters from multiple elected representatives – such as MP Aravind Sawant, MP Milind Deora and Maharashtra Cabinet Minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha – to the MbPT and the police commissioner to halt the demolitions, the police returned on May 12, this time with a more elaborate plan. “Around 3 or 4 am, the police put up multiple barricades all the way to the main road and stationed at least 20-30 police at each. Then at 6 am, they started pulling us out of our houses, shouting ‘dirty people, get out of here!’, while people in plain clothes locked our doors and took photos to make it look like we abandoned our homes,” says 21-year-old Zubiya Anis Sheikh. “By 12 pm, our homes were gone.”Demolished homes after the rubble has been cleared. Photo: Anjali DResidents were woken from sleep and during the demolition, children were separated from parents, residents were verbally and physically abused for gathering essential supplies, and people were refused access to toilets, water and food. A young girl who got her menstrual cycle during this time was denied access to a bathroom even after residents pleaded with female police officers. Another child, just two and a half years old, who had recently undergone open heart surgery, was not allowed to leave the area with his parents. Furthermore, electricity connections were not cut before bulldozing began, endangering everyone present. A second round of police brutality took place on June 9, just five days after evicted residents held a march to Azad Maidan and Amol Patankar, personal assistant to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, assured the MPGHSS that no further action would be taken by the police.Around 11 am on June 9, MbPT officials began laying cement poles to fence off the demolished area. When residents protested, police officers from Sewri Police Station arrived. “We were cooking lunch, when the police came and threw away all our food,” said Abdul Raza, a resident of the area. “The senior inspector, Rohit Khot, threw a chair violently, pushed women over the age of 70 and knocked away people’s mobile phones.”In an affidavit submitted to the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Wadala Division, Shanti Ravi Harijan, a 53-year-old community worker who has lived in Darukhana since birth and a member of the MPGHSS, describes being physically dragged away by a male officer. “All I told the police was that they should control their language, and that this is wrong. In response, I was pushed against a police van, held by four police officers, and abused with gendered and casteist slurs.” In the same affidavit, Zubiya says that Khot “threw the phone from my hand, pushed me, and threatened to kill me.” Zubiya was later admitted to J.J. Hospital for treatment.Marzeena Sheikh, 57, who has lived here for over 40 years, adds, “When the police pushed me, the sole of my right foot, which was already injured from the violence on 12th May, was split open by a sharp stone.” Marzeena Sheikh sits in front of the protest site. Photo: Anjali DMbPT has since built a wire compound around the demolished area, preventing residents from returning to retrieve belongings still buried under the rubble. “They keep threatening to bring a truck and remove everything, including our things and us,” said Yasmine Sheikh, a 34-year-old resident who has been vocally fighting for justice. The Mumbai Port Ghar Haq Sangharsh Samiti has registered a complaint with the Yellow Gate DCP and ACP about the police atrocities. The reporter of this story also filed a complaint with the Maharashtra Human Rights Commission for a response to the police atrocities, which was rejected. Furthermore, the reporter reached out to Vijay Choure, Senior Police Inspector at Sewri Police Station, as well as Dr. M. Angamuthu, the Chairman of Mumbai Port Authority, for comments, but is yet to hear from them. The report will be updated as and when they reply. Sagarmala and ‘world-class’ developmentTwelve years ago, in June 2014, then Union minister of shipping, Nitin Gadkari, had announced a “world-class” project that would transform MbPT land into a high-end commercial hub for entertainment, tourism and “maritime leisure”. To chart a plan, he formed a committee under the chairperson of MbPT, Rani Jadhav, tasked with the job of drafting the development plan. The report, still unpublished but widely circulated online, proposed three marinas to dock luxury liners, a cruise terminal, several helipads, aquaria, water sports and floating restaurants. More recently, on June 25, 2026, the MbPA unveiled 63 projects worth Rs 5,028.17 crore as part of its Eastern Waterfront redevelopment plan to include port modernisation, cargo infrastructure, waterfront development, crude oil expansion, surveillance systems projects and maritime tourism. This plan includes seven completed projects worth Rs 132.29 crore, 34 projects worth Rs 1,354.59 crore for which foundation stones were laid, and 22 new projects worth Rs 3,541.29 crore. The 470 crore Mumbai Marina Project spans 12 hectares and has already received bids from the Adani Group, Larsen & Toubro, and three other major infrastructure companies – of which, Larsen & Toubro has won a part of the bid – with a completion target of January 2029.The overlap between these waterfront development plans and the current residential areas of MbPT is clearly visible via land-use maps. The existing classification of the Darukhana area includes slums and clusters (though lesser than actually present), industrial use, and warehouses, while the proposed plan re-classifies the entire area to commercial use, port-allied activities, mixed use and tourism infrastructure, without any mention of housing for existing residents. Notably, the earlier referenced Rani Jadhav committee report did include housing for workers and existing residents in its development plan, but all subsequent development plans have omitted this, going as far as to show the existing land as ‘vacant’.Existing Land Use Map and Legend. Photo: Mumbai Port Ghar Haq Sangharsh Samiti Proposed Land Use Map and Legend. Photo: Mumbai Port Ghar Haq Sangharsh SamitiProposed Land Use Map and Legend. Photo: Mumbai Port Ghar Haq Sangharsh SamitiIt is important to note that MbPT land falls under the Union government – not the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) – meaning the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) responsible for in-situ rehabilitation of slum residents across Mumbai has no jurisdiction here. Furthermore, in 2018, the Union government designated MbPT as a Special Planning Authority (SPA) for 966 hectares along Mumbai’s eastern waterfront. An SPA, under the Maharashtra Regional and Town Planning Act, replaces an elected local authority as the development control body for a notified area – removing planning decisions from democratic accountability and placing them in the hands of appointed bureaucrats. Meanwhile, research shows that even if 45% of MbPT land were used for public housing, over half a million people could receive high-quality homes.“Idhar hi shaadi kiya, idhar hi baccha hua, idhar hi aadmi bhi mar gaya. Bacche log ka bhi baccha ho gaya (I got married here, had kids here, my husband died here. Even my kids have had kids now). We have been here since even before India’s Independence, and now the government is telling us we are illegal and infiltrators? How much will Adani take? How many more poor will he put on the streets?” asks Vasantal.Maruti Dhondiba Bhise, Usha Sadashiv Salve, Vasantal Ramalingam Harijan, and Balayanka Harijan (left to right) sit together under the trees. Photo: Anjali DNot a one-off redevelopment planThe development of Mumbai’s eastern waterfronts and the demolitions on MbPT’s land are not one-off. In September 2024, the Deendayal Port Authority (DPA) in Kandla, Gujarat, demolished more than 600 homes of Muslim fisherfolk who had lived and fished there for over 150 years, displacing 6,000 people without rehabilitation to develop Kandla as a green hydrogen hub. On December 8, 2025, another demolition drive was carried out by the DPA and Kutch (East) Police, razing 100 acres of land and displacing 4-5,000 people under the guise of “national security”.From Mumbai to Kutch, these port authority-led demolition drives fall under the Sagarmala programme – a BJP government flagship port development initiative approved by the Union cabinet in 2015. The Sagarmala programme includes 839 projects worth Rs 5.79 lakh crore, with the aim of monetising India’s 7,517 km coastline through private port modernisation and commercial development. However, the proposed waterfront development of Mumbai under the Sagarmala programme is likely to dramatically increase the climate vulnerability of a city that is already in severe climate distress. The IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report has warned that Mumbai faces high-risk exposure to cyclones, storm surges, and sea-level rise, with flood damage costs estimated at up to US$162 billion per year by 2050. Mumbai’s eastern coast, where the MbPT’s commercial redevelopment is concentrated, has been identified as among the most vulnerable to the combination of sea-level rise and storm surge due to decades of unplanned development, land conversion and destruction of mangroves. The urban heat island effect, a phenomenon by which cities trap heat through impermeable concrete surfaces and the absence of vegetation, compounds the impacts and increases the risk of more severe heatwaves in the city. In fact, research shows that slums produce less heat compared to fully commercialised zones. As climate change impacts worsen, it is the working-class living in slums that is made most vulnerable. In Mumbai, more than 80% of people who die during extreme rainfall and flooding live in slums. And during summers, those living in informal housing made of tin face the worst brunt of heatwaves. With demolitions rampant across Mumbai, it is the same working-class, Dalit and Muslim communities already exposed to climate risks who are made even more exposed. This exposure is not limited to the aftermath of a single demolition; when displaced citizens are pushed out of Mumbai towards areas like Titwala, Nallasopara, Vasai, Panvel, they find that not only are these areas more prone to flooding and under-development, but that here, they yet again face more rounds of brutal demolitions and homelessness.Everyday life after a demolition. Photo: Anjali DAlthough Maharashtra’s 2021 government resolution prohibits the demolition of homes during monsoons (June 1 to September 30), the law has regularly been side-stepped both directly and indirectly, by carrying out demolitions just days before the cut-off. In Darukhana, demolitions took place in the middle of a heatwave alert, and just two weeks before the monsoon was scheduled to start. “It was kadak dhoop (piercing heat) when they broke our homes. And it still is. We get headaches, nausea, and dizziness sitting out in the sun all day,” Marzeena told The Wire a month ago. “Baarish ka bohot tension hai (there is a lot of anxiety around the upcoming monsoon).”Taadpatri (tarpaulin covering) put-up by residents for shelter during monsoon. Photo: Anjali DAnd now, during one of Mumbai’s heaviest and most erratic monsoons, families have been forced to live on the roadside while the MbPT officials come and tear down their taadpatri (tarpaulin sheet) everyday.“We put up a taadpatri because it started raining. But they tore it up and threw it away,” says Abdul. “Barish me bhi road par rehte hain. Garmi me bhi yahi the. Hamare bacche bimaar pad rahe hain, par unki kaun soch raha hai?” (We are living on the road in this intense rain. We were here even in the heat. Our children are falling sick, but who is thinking of them?)”The fight continuesResidents sit, discuss and sing songs at the protest site. Photo: Anjali DSince May 12, those evicted and residents from nearby houses have declared an indefinite sit-in protest. Although the police broke down and cornered off the protest site on June 9, people have continued the sit-in on the road – particularly those from Scheduled Caste and Muslim communities who have no land or resources left. On June 4, the Mumbai Port Ghar Haq Sangharsh Samiti led a historic march from the demolition site to Azad Maidan, followed by an indefinite protest in Azad Maidan where slum residents from across Mumbai joined in solidarity. “We built our houses through our own hard work. Who are they to call us illegal?” questions Yasmine Sheikh, 34, during the protest. “What has happened is extremely wrong. And there needs to be justice,” says Durai, angrily, as he speaks about the recent death of Mammi Mamtaz Begum, his neighbour, who passed away due to clinical depression. “I don’t know when she shifted here, but it was a long time ago – there were only four families on the street at the time including ours. Today, she died in front of my eyes. Murdered by BPT.”Women from across Mumbai’s slums attend protest at Azad Maidan. Photo: Anjali DThe people’s demands are clear: a house for a house in the same area; withdrawal of all FIRs filed against residents who protested peacefully; an end to harassment by MbPT and police; a comprehensive housing policy for all MbPT land residents; and government schools, hospitals, and dispensaries on MbPT land. “We are the ones who have built this land and it is our labour that runs this city,” said Shanti. “We will continue fighting till our last breath until every single person is given the justice, the dignity and the rights that they deserve. And until then, we will not stop fighting in solidarity with our saathis who have been thrown onto the streets.”Anjali D. is an anti-caste writer and multimedia journalist based out of Maharashtra. At BehanBox, they lead flagship projects and community engagement. Anjali is also an active member of people’s struggles for housing, labour and land rights, and environmental justice.This story has been produced as part of the Asian College of Journalism’s Climate Change Media Hub Mentorship Program.