Suffocating in houses barely big enough to sit in
We all know Dharavi is one of Asia’s largest slums located in the financial center of India India – Mumbai. Dharavi has an area of just over 2.1 km2 but has about 1 million people living. This is one of the most densely populated areas in the world.
We all know how difficult the lives of people in this slum are, but compared to the official houses In Hong Kong, Dharavi is still a paradise.
Imagine if you lived in a house only about 17 square meters wide, what would be your first reaction? Fear and suffocation. But thousands of Hong Kongers have had to live like that for many years.
Exactly as the name suggests Its cramped spaces in these houses make the people living in them feel like they are being buried alive. Hong Kong is by far the most expensive housing market in the world The poor part of society was forced to adapt to the sudden change in their lifestyle. And thus coffin houses were born.
The people who live here are mainly people retired without salary for poor workers with an income of less than 4,000 HKD/month (about 116 million VND).
Usually these type of houses are illegally divided apartments with about 15 owners. In each of these coffins, next to the bed, other objects are stacked on top of each other. And in some ways, these houses are no different from bunk beds on trains, even cramped and more uncomfortable. People who live here have to share bathrooms and kitchens, most of which are in unsanitary conditions. But to rent such a place, they have to pay nearly 2,400 HKD (about 7 million VND).
Living in such a cramped space causes many people’s spirits to be damaged because the space is only enough to sit up. Due to the cramped space and lack of fresh air, the house always smells But people living here are always disturbed by noise all day and night. And when there is no natural light, they cannot tell if it is day or night unless they look at the clock.
To escape the constraints of these coffin houses, Mr. Simon Wong, who currently lives in a 2 square meter house, spends his days going to the park to play mahjong with his friends. He only comes home at night to sleep.< /p>
But when the pandemic hit, Mr. Wong was stuck in his house. He had to climb a ladder to get into the house, which was just big enough to accommodate a mattress. “I was no longer allowed to go out and gather. After drinking tea and buying groceries, I returned home and just watched TV. I can’t do anything” said the 64-year-old man.
Coffin houses were established in the late 1950s and were mainly occupied by migrants from China. Initially They are just iron bunk beds, then people divide them around the beds to form houses and these type of houses still exist today called cage houses.
Hong Kong plans build 1 million housing units
Last month Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced a plan to address the city’s housing shortage by building a new urban area close to Shenzhen.
City construction plan This new urban area was eventually expanded to more than 300 square kilometers with nearly 1 million homes for about 25 million Hong Kong people, accounting for about 1/3 of Hong Kong’s population.
Mrs. Lam said: “The new urban area will is the most important area in Hong Kong, facilitating our development integrating with Shenzhen and the Greater Bay Area.”
She believes that Hong Kong will meet the land shortage in medium and long term with policies including land reclamation. This area is planning to spend up to 80 billion USD to improve 1,700 hectares of land.
According to her, millions of housing units will be built. added to the market over the next 20-25 years, increasing current supply by about one-third.
The move is likely backed by Beijing because of recent unrest in the city of due to housing tensions. The Hong Kong Free Press reported that Mr. Luo Huining – Head of Beijing’s liaison office in Hong Kong – recently visited people living in subdivided apartments. coffin and cage house. In a statement, Mr. Luo’s office said his heart sank when he witnessed the cramped living conditions of the people here. Real estate has become the main livelihood issue for people here when most people cannot buy commercial houses and have been waiting in line to buy public housing for more than 5 and a half years.
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