Chawls were multi-storeyed structures which were built in the ‘native’ parts of the town. These houses were owned by private landlords who rented these chawls to migrant workers. Each chawl was divided into smaller one-room tenements which had no private toilets. Many families could reside at a time in a tenement. 80 % of Bombay’s population resided in these chawls. The chawls were not hygienic and as many people were living in a small area they faced a lot of problems. Water was scarce in these chawls. As the chawls were very small, streets and neighbourhoods were used for cooking, washing and sleeping. Liquor shops and akharas came up in empty spaces. Streets were used for different types of leisure activities. Magicians, monkey players and acrobats used the streets to stage their shows. People of the lower caste were not allowed into the chawls. The lower caste people were forced to live in temporary shelters made of corrugated sheets, leaves and bamboo poles.