BANGALORE: The dhobi ghat situated at Rajajinagar 5th Block calls for an immediate attention of the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) authorities. Modernisation is the need of the hour at this dhobi ghat. It was inaugurated by M Ramaish, Trustee, City Improvement Board on September 8, 1965 in the presence of B S Hanuman, Chairman of the City Improvement Board.
Around 60 washermen families from Jedarahalli, Sivanahalli, Basaveswaranagar, Chodarapalya, Agrahara and Vijayanagar depend on this dhobi ghat. The washermen are facing lot of issues due to lack of space to put up clothes lines. They have to depend on the cross roads to dry the clothes. “There was a proposal to allot the adjacent vacant land to this dhobi ghat but politics played spoilsport. So the proposal remained on the papers,’’ said a washerman on condition of anonymity.
It was said that most of the water storage tanks need repair to prevent wastage of water due to the leakage. “We have been requesting the BBMP authorities to provide washing machines, hydro extractors and driers. Recently, the BBMP had approved our proposal but it was kept in abeyance due to the reasons best known to the BBMP authorities,’’ said P Ramanna, president, Rajajinagar Washermen Association.
The shortage of water is a cause of concern for the washermen. There were occasions where the washermen bought water from private water suppliers to wash clothes.
“Recently, the BBMP dug a borewell to ensure sufficient water supply. As of now there is no shortage for water. It would be a great help if the BBMP sanctions one more borewell to avoid any inconvenience in summer,’’ said Keshava, a washerman.
Corporator of Shiva Nagar Ward, Manjunath has taken initiative to mitigate the problems of washermen. “The corporator has been taking initiatives to support us and doing his best to help us,’’ said Ramanna.