BMC plans makeover of 125-yr-old Dhobi Ghat
MUMBAI: Dhobi Ghat, the 125year-old open-air laundromat in Mahalaxmi, estimated to wash a million pieces of clothing, is scheduled to get a much-needed makeover from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). The civic body’s proposal is currently awaiting clearance from the Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee, as the stones or wash pens on which the dhobis flog, scrub and dye clothes fall under the Grade II-A heritage category.
A civic official from G (South) ward revealed that the BMC had plans to paint the walls, construct roofs over the washing lines and neaten up the passageways. Also on the anvil is removal of encroachments, refurbishing of the viewing gallery and opening the entire laundromat, one-third of which is currently covered with sheets, to the sky.
There are 731 heritage stones at Dhobi Ghat, and each stone is owned by a dhobi. “If they want to pass on the stone to another dhobi, they have to keep the BMC in the loop and pay the requisite fees,” said the civic official.
Santosh Kanojia, chairman of the Dhobi Kalyan & Audhyogik Vikas Cooperative Society, asserted that beautification was a secondary concern for washermen. “There are other pressing issues,” he said.
“We sometimes face a shortage of water and have to send the clothes outside for laundering. And when we boil water in the bhatti to clean stubborn stains, we are fined for turning the environment smoky. The BMC would do better to provide basic water and gas lines and restore the heritage stones.”
Kanojia revealed that each stone is owned by one dhobi and four dhobis take turns to wash clothes on it. “It’s a hereditary profession,” he said, adding that he himself belongs to the fifth generation of dhobis and owns a stone passed on from his grandfather. However, he uses modern technology and owns a few laundries in Mumbai.
Kanojia has a problem with the viewing gallery which he termed “intrusive”. “Dhobis are viewed by tourists like specimens in a zoo,” he said. “Foreigners come and point out and say, ‘See, see, look at the washermen there.’ They click photos of our women washing in various positions; sometimes they come at midnight and take pictures of dhobis resting, and then write exaggeratedly about how tired they look after a day’s work. This disturbance and intrusion must stop.”
However, dhobis owed the BMC a lot, as they paid the civic body a meagre rent of Rs 273, added Kanojia. Ending on a poetic note, he said, “Mumbai is synonymous with Dhobi Ghat. Just like all those who come to Mumbai become one with the city and true-blue Mumbaikars, all the clothes that come here for washing come out scrubbed and clean alike.”