The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has issued notices to the bakery industry to convert wood-fired kilns to clean fuel and warned of action. However, PNG (Pipe Natural Gas) connection will be provided to the well-known Dhobi Ghat at Mahalakshmi at the expense of the BMC. The BMC has taken this decision to stop the pollution caused by burning wood to heat water in Dhobi Ghat. The civic body is going to spend INR 24 crores for this work.
The Dhobi community has been earning their living at Dhobi Ghat near Mahalakshmi station for many years. Many processes such as washing clothes, dyeing clothes, drying clothes, ironing are done in this place for many years. It often consists of burning wood to heat large quantities of water. Sometimes the net is kept warm using rags, waste cloth, and waste plastic. This causes a lot of pollution in the environment. Many people who work in Dhobi Ghat suffer from diseases like asthma and tuberculosis. Some washermen use LPG cylinders. Due to the large number of cylinders, the area is also prone to fire. Also, space limitations often limit the storage of cylinders. Therefore, the BMC has decided to install a PNG system at Dhobi Ghat.
Dhobi Welfare and Industrial Development Co-operative Society Limited is an organisation that works to solve the problems faced by workers in Dhobi Ghat during their daily work. This organisation has demanded PNG gas connection in Dhobi Ghat. PNG is safer and cheaper than LPG as it is environment friendly. Therefore, the civic body has taken this decision from the perspective of security. Therefore, the mechanical and electrical department of the municipality has called for tenders and decided on the contractor to supply PNG distribution and connection as well as equipment at Dhobi Ghat. A contract of 20 crore 98 lakh rupees has been awarded for this work. Including all taxes, the cost has gone up to INR 24 crores.
Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party MLA Rais Shaikh has said that the BMC should provide financial support to the bakery industry as in Dhobi Ghat. There are more than two thousand bakeries in Mumbai and they provide direct and indirect employment to around two lakh people. The bakery industry has been banned by the civic body from using kilns using firewood. But we demand that the BMC should hold a hearing to listen to their problems.
Mahalakshmi Dhobi Ghat, located near Mahalakshmi station, is recognised on an international level. This dhobi ghat has an area of about 81.40 square meters and has been recorded as the world's largest dhobi ghat in the Guinness Book of World Records in 2011.
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