The Gazetteers Department

Laundries were mostly located in towns and very rarely in big villages. In the past, cleaning and washing of clothes was done by the traditional Dhobis. Now, even in villages, where laundries do not exist, cleaning and washing of clothes is undertaken by Dhobis. With laundries finding increasing favour with customers, the Dhobis, have to depend more upon laundries for their livelihood, with the result that their independent status and occupation are fast vanishing.

Now a days laundries, Dhobis and those who only undertake ironing are three component parts of the profession serving tin-clientele in their own way. At present. Dhobis go from house to house or even from laundry !o laundry to collect clothes for washing. In the former case Dhobis deliver clothes washed and ironed to the customers, while in the latter, only washed clothes are delivered.

Laundries do not undertake home-delivery of washed clothes but they just clean and iron them and keep them ready at the counter. A few establishments also undertake dyeing and drycleaning of clothes.

The following statement shows the employment provided by the occupation during different Census years.

Year	Total	Males	Females	Names of occupations as stated in respective Censuses
1921	1,689	899	790	Washing, cleaning and dyeing (actual workers)
1931	1,464	897	567	Washing and cleaning (principal occupants)
1951	484	397	87	Laundries and laundry services
1961	870	534	336	Laundrymen, washermen and Dhobis

Of the 870 persons engaged in this occupation in 1961, 577, were from urban areas of the district.

Soap, washing soda, bleaching powder, indigo, whitening agents and starch are the constituents used for washing with charcoal, and firewood being used as fuel. The survey revealed that small establishments spent about Rs. 30 to Rs. 100 per month on these accessories. The tools and equipment of a small unit comprised one iron and one table, costing about Rs. 50 but some possess a cupboard to keep the cleaned clothes, in addition to the table and iron. The number of irons as also the cost of tools and equipment used, varied depending upon the size of business.

Some small establishments were one-man establishments, while others employed family labour, the number of persons thus employed varying from one to three. Some laundries employed salaried personnel, their number depending upon the size of the unit.

A small unit in the district earned about Rs. 80 to Rs. 100 per month after accounting for the expenditure on rent and other miscellaneous items which varied from Rs. 10 TO RS. 25 per month

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