Little known facts about the dhobi ghat in Mumbai, a Guinness World Record holder

The dhobi ghat in Mumbai is a Guinness World Record holder - the plaque at the entrance says - "The most clothes that people hand-washed simultaneously at a single location were 496. This feat was achieved by the Dhobi Kalyan and Audyogik Vikas Coop Society on March 8, 2011."
Located at Mumbai's Mahalaxmi, its annual turnover is of the order of Rs 100 crore.
The dhobis (washermen) numbering over 7000 work for 18 to 20 hours each day. They flog, scrub, dye and bleach clothes on concrete wash pens, dry them on ropes, neatly press them and then send them off to different locations in the city. It is estimated that over one lakh clothes are washed every day.
This has been reported in timesofindia.indiatimes.com dated 26 February 2017.

It seems a private laundry will charge a customer Rs 50 to wash a pant or shirt and send the clothes to the ghat where each piece is washed for as little as Rs 5.
Similarly, garment dealers bring second-hand clothes in bulk and get them scrubbed at the Ghat. These clothes are then sold as brand new. Same with sarees which arrive in bulk. Each dhobi washes at least 400 sarees a day, most of them old and meant for second sales and the charges are Rs 4 to Rs 5 per saree with guaranteed delivery the next day.
Their biggest clients are neighborhood laundries, garment dealers, wedding decorators and caterers, mid-sized hotels and clubs. One of our largest clients used to be the Indian Railways, but they now have their own equipment.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org

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Washermen of Mumbai`s iconic `Dhobi Ghat` to shift out to hi-rise buildings

Dhobi Ghat in Mumbai is an iconic structure spread across a sprawling 23 acres of land. It was constructed in 1890 to meet the needs of the British and Parsis living in Mumbai and is located adjacent to the Mahalaxmi station in south Mumbai. It consists of rows of open air concrete wash pens numbering 731 and a heavy flogging stone.
There are roughly 25,000 washermen who work here and they will move out from here and occupy tall towers, courtesy of a slum rehabilitation project.
This has been reported in zeenews.india.com dated 26 November 2016.

'Dhobi Ghat`, the scene of scores of Bollywood movies and the world`s largest open air laundromat, has entered the Guinness Book of World Record in 2013 for the largest number of people washing clothes simultaneously. It is as unique to Mumbai as are the dabbawallahs who pick up and deliver lunch boxes on time to lakhs of Mumbaikars daily.
The washerfolk live with their families in tiny slum dwellings surrounding the Dhobi Ghat. The century-old heritage site is also a major tourist destination.
The link of Dhobi Ghat with Bollywood is not new - director Kiran Rao (wife of Aamir Khan) had directed her first film named "Dhobi Ghat" (2011). And it had featured in movies like "Munnabhai MBBS", and Amitabh Bachchan`s "Don".


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org


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