BMC to supply piped natural gas to Dhobi Ghat to curb pollution

That the civic body has taken up the cudgels to install the pipelines has ushered in great relief for the washermen of the precinct, who have long raised demands for the provision of piped gas supply at the Dhobi ghat.

Speaking to The Indian Express, a BMC official said that nearly 40 metres will be installed at the laundromat in the first phase of the plan.

“Besides being environmentally harmful, unclean fuel like wood, coal or even LPG is not safe as the site often witnesses frequent fires. Thus, the plans for piped gas supply are in the works. Soon, an MRS station will be established at an earmarked location nearby from wherein pipelines will be laid up to the Dhobi Ghat. While 40 metres will be installed in the first phase, we will cover the entire area in 3-4 phases,” said the official, adding that while BMC is facilitating the project, the project will be carried out by the Mahanagar Gas Limited (MGL).

Having already procured all the permissions, the MGL is currently conducting its study of the location. After their nod, the pipelines will be laid at the laundromat over a period of three months.

Touted as Asia’s largest open-air laundromat, Dhobi Ghat is a listed Grade II B heritage structure which carries out washing, ironing and bleaching of over 1,00,000 clothes daily. Besides churning clean clothes for a vast clientele, the ghat also doubles up as abode for the Dhobis (traditional washermen), who live in tiny homes–no bigger than 100 sq ft–within the compound.

According to historians, the laundromat originally operated out of two separate locations—one located near the present-day CSMT which catered to the British officers, while another was situated near present day Metro cinema which served the British Army.

However, it was in the 1880s that the two laundromats were relocated to the present location, a stone’s throw away from the Mahalaxmi railway station.

To this day, the laundromat continues to house the British era washing pens and stones. Built in Basalt, there are 731 stones, each owned by one family. For each stone, families pay Rs 293 per month to BMC.

Even as washing machines have reduced utilisation of the stone pens, the washermen continue to boil water in traditional bhattis to rid of stubborn stains. However, the smoke emanating from the bhattis has increasingly raised concerns among the washermen for the pollution it generates and the diseases that comes along with prolonged exposure.

Santosh Kanojia, chairman of the Dhobi Kalyan & Audhyogik Vikas Cooperative Society, told The Indian Express, “In the absence of gas lines, people use wood for boiling while many also use Chindi (rags) as they are cheap alternatives to other sources like LPG cylinders. However, the chemicals from chindi (rags) are very dangerous when inhaled. A lot of people at Dhobi Ghat have got cancer and in some grievous situations, people have also died. The smoke is also causing major pollution, deteriorating the air quality in the nearby areas.”

Highlighting their woes, the cooperative society in 2023 also wrote to the former Chief Minister Eknath Shinde with a request for the gas connection. Now with the BMC finally acceding to their demands, the laundromat’s stakeholders have welcomed the plan with many stating that the switch to PNG will not only reduce pollution but also boost business.

“The switch to piped gas is the need of the hour. It will greatly benefit our health and furthermore, it will also allow us to carry out faster cleaning. Meanwhile, chindi and wood also require a lot of space, which is scant. The PNG connection will also help resolve this problem,” added Kanojia.

Jatashankar Rajak, a second-generation Dhobi at the Mahalaxmi laundromat told Express, “Besides preventing the use of rags, the pipeline gas will also come in handy in the use of dryers which also consume gas. It will facilitate faster drying of clothes, and since the gas will be available at all times, our businesses would get a good boost.”