Thaindian News

Panaji, May 19 (IANS) It is Asia’s biggest slum, located in the heart of Mumbai, but Dharavi is also a vibrant financial remittance hub and the Corporation Bank is planning to set up a branch there, a top bank official said Thursday.

Speaking to reporters here, Mangalore-based Corporation Bank chairman and managing director Ramnath Pradeep said his bank planned to start a fullfledged branch there, but was struggling to find a legitimate land holding to lease out in the area.

“I am looking for a place to start a branch there, but legality of the land there is becoming a problem,” Pradeep said.

Dharavi slum, which is located near the suburb of Bandra and has been the setting for several Bollywood as well as international films, is a commercial hub and remittances sent by workers residing and working in the slum amounts to a huge sum.

“The small vendors are doing a lot of work there. There is a huge amount of remittances going out of Dharavi. Workers queue up to the local post offices in lines for two-three hours to send money to their homes in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar,” Pradeep said, adding that the bank was keen on tapping this revenue potential.

The bank has several schemes for the small vendors, which would suit the profile for an area like Dharavi, he said.

Reckoned as one of the biggest slums in the world, Dharavi’s population is pegged at over one million spread over 175 hectares.

The Dharavi slum has been depicted in several films right from Mira Nair’s “Salaam Bombay” and more recently Danny Boyle’s “Slumdog Millionaire”, amongst others.