"We were displaced from our slums in Janakpuri with promises of a plot of land and other basic amenities five years back. Instead, we were taken to a landfill in Hastasar and left there in the middle of winter," she said, as a facilitator posted an online note on a global online forum.

"We had to level the land before building a small house and till about two years back there was no electricity, no drinking water, and no sewage system.

"That's when an NGO started organising us into little self-help groups to help in empowering ourselves. After that things have begun changing but this land was allotted only for five years and that period is expiring in a month's time."

Shingari and the other women are just among the thousands worldwide that have connected to the Internet to discuss and debate over the next few days some of the most urgent and controversial issues that people face in a rapidly urbanising world.

The Canadian government, in partnership with International Business Machines (IBM) and UN-HABITAT, is sponsoring this unprecedented online event as part of the preparations for the third session of the World Urban Forum to be held in Vancouver next June.

"The goal of this forum is to stimulate actionable ideas for urban sustainability by engaging tens of thousands of people in a global dialogue to present and evaluate ideas on how to solve pressing urban issues," associate director of The Energy and Resources Institute, Vinod Bhargava said.