Dharavi Digital Display Board

Inspiration

I was scrolling through YouTube one day and came across a video about Dharavi, Asia's largest slum. As I watched, I was honestly disturbed. The conditions shown were heartbreaking — narrow lanes, poor drainage, lack of sunlight, people struggling for basic needs. I just sat there thinking, “How can anyone live like this every day?”

That one video really stayed with me. It inspired me deeply, and I felt like I had to do something. That’s how this idea was born — a digital announcement and information display system, made especially for slum areas like Dharavi.

What it does

1.Displays important public announcements like ration schemes, health camps, job melas, and more — all with simple text and clear visuals.

2.Shows real-time clock and weather information to keep residents informed.

3.Includes voice alerts in Hindi and Marathi, which are the local regional languages spoken in Dharavi, especially for reminding people before water supply hours.

4.Slides change automatically to display updated content with local language support for better accessibility.

5.Designed to be installed in schools, community halls, local wards, or public areas in urban slums to help people stay informed without needing a mobile phone or internet.

How we built it

Built using:
HTML, CSS, JavaScript
Added voice support using the SpeechSynthesis API
Deployed the prototype using Replit
Used setInterval() for slide transitions and timed voice alerts

Challenges we ran into

-Many residents are illiterate, so we couldn't rely only on written messages — we added voice alerts in Hindi and Marathi, their regional languages, to make it more accessible. -Most of the area has no internet access, so we had to keep the system offline-friendly and lightweight. -We observed that children are often not sent to school and are instead made to follow the same occupations as their parents, limiting their future potential. This made it important to include announcements related to education and awareness. -Ensuring voice alerts sounded natural in both Hindi and Marathi without mispronunciations was tricky but essential. -Managing slide transitions and layout for different types of content (text-heavy, image-based, timed alerts) took several design iterations. -Finding and using images that reflect real community life, while avoiding stereotypes or disrespect was challenging. -The area suffers from poor hygiene conditions, with open drains, limited clean water, and overcrowding. Many people may die 10 years earlier than average because of these health risks , it drove home the urgency of sharing regular health and sanitation messages.