This settlement was formed in 1970 and was first occupied by people who migrated to Dharavi from Tamil Nadu and later by some Muslims. They worked as labourers on construction sites or in drainage projects. Today, many of the residents have shifted to different suburbs of Mumbai. The original occupants migrated from different districts of Tamil Nadu like Yerud, Jhelum and Tirunavelli. Other Maharashtrians from Sangli, Kuruduwadi, Kolhapur, and Sangli, UPites and Bengalis and Biharis are also found here. This settlement has been named after a local corporator Kamla Shetty who helped the community resolve many issues like sanitation, health housing etc.
Most Hindu festivals like Ganesh utsav, Navratri and Diwali are celebrated as the community predominantly Hindu. But since most of the Hindus are from Tamil Nadu, Pongal (the first harvest festival of the year) is the biggest festival celebrated.
Previously people from this community worked in constructing drainages, in construction sites and both men and women worked on daily wagers but now most people from the community work in the railway and in the Mumbai municipality.
When people first came to live here they fetched water from Mahim (nearby suburb) railway crossing, some fetched it from an Irani hotel but today there is a community tap in the settlement. Bombay Municipal Corporation built a public toilet block here but that was not enough and couldn’t manage it, hence handed it to a private contractor who charges Rs.2 and they maintain the toilet. Both man and women have separate but common toilet blocks. Every 10 -12 household has one community tap and the water bill amount is shared by the remaining households.
