Did you know Mumbai's Dhobi Ghat still makes Rs 100 crore a year?

Did you know Mumbai's Dhobi Ghat still makes Rs 100 crore a year?

MUMBAI: Over cups of chai in a tiny office under the Mahalaxmi bridge, Dharmendra Kanojia, Pappu Shaikh and a few friends, all dhobis (traditional laundrymen), narrated their experiences during a recent holiday in the Central Asian republics of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. "Some of us had already travelled to Bangkok so we decided on another exotic destination this time round," said Kanojia as his friends nudged him to reveal the "touristy stuff" they did.

The bonhomie among them is infectious; they have grown up together around the landmark Dhobi Ghat, touted as the biggest open air laundry in the world located near Mahalaxmi railway station. It was built during the British Raj in 1890. The Dhobi Kalyan & Audhyogik Vikas Cooperative Society, the apex body that represents washermen, estimates the annual turnover of the Mahalaxmi Dhobi Ghat at around Rs 100 crore. For 18 to 20 hours each day, over 7,000 people flog, scrub, dye and bleach clothes on concrete wash pens, dry them on ropes, neatly press them and transport the garments to different parts of the city. Over one lakh clothes are washed each day. Some of the wealthier dhobis have given up on manual cleaning and have now installed large mechanical washing and drying machines.

"With washing machines in every household and large hotels and hospitals installing their own laundries, business at Dhobi Ghat is not as thriving as it used to be," said Manulal Kanojia, a much-respected figure among the dhobis here. "A private laundry will charge a customer Rs 50 to wash a pant or shirt. These clothes are then sent to the ghat where each piece is washed for as little as Rs 5," he said.

Garment dealers from Dadar, Chembur, Kurla and Andheri bring second-hand clothes in bulk and get them scrubbed at the Ghat. They then sell the garments as brand new. Sarees, too, come in large quantities here. Each dhobi washes at least 400 sarees a day, most of them old and meant for second sales. "We charge barely Rs 4 to Rs 5 per saree. Delivery is guaranteed the next day," said Pappu Shaikh.

The dhobis collect clothes from all corners of the city, from Colaba to Virar. Their biggest clients are neighbourhood laundries, garment dealers, wedding decorators and caterers, mid-sized hotels and clubs. "There is now a lot of under-cutting in this business. One of our largest clients used to be the Indian Railways, but now they have their own equipment," said Manulal, who grew up around the Ghat in the 1950s.