The Gazetteers Department

Bidi-Making.—It is one of the common industries found in almost all towns and large villages. Kudal, Malvan, Ratnagiri and Sawant-wadi are a few important centres of bidi making which engage about 1,000 workers.

Tobacco which is required in bidi-making is brought from Bel-gaum, Nipani and Kolhapur. Kuda leaves used for wrapping are locally available. Some artisans use tembri or tembhurni leave for wrapping, which are brought from Nagpur.

Tools which are used in making bidis are a pair of scissors and a furnace. An average bidi worker makes 500 to 800 bidis in a day and a good worker about 1,000 bidis per day. The workers are paid at the rate of Rs. 2 for making 1,000 bidis.

The cost of production of 1,000 bidis comes to about Rs. 3-5-0 including labour charges. Some of the bidi manufacturing concerns in urban areas employ these artisans who work at their places.

The following process is adopted in bidi-making: —

Tembhurni or kuda leaves are soaked in water for about twelve hours to make them soft, after which they are put in a furnace to make them adaptable for further processing. Leaf is first cut to the required size and the artisan gives it the shape of bidi after putting in the necessary quantity of tobacco and rounding it with the help of his fingers. The bidis are assembled in bundles of 25 or 50 and put in a square sized metal tray for being slightly heated.

Copper and Brass Mental Industry.

Copper and Brass Metal Industry.-Copper and brass metal industry is found mostly in northern parts of the district. Ratnagiri, Chiplun, Harnai, etc., are its chief centres. The artisans in the copper and brass industry work independently. They bring raw materials such as copper and brass plates from Bombay and manufacture copper and brass utensils for domestic use. Sometimes they are employed on piece rate basis by merchants who place orders with them and also supply them with the necessary brass and copper plates. The finished products are delivered to the merchant. An average artisan possesses a set of tools like an anvil, a hammer, a pair of scissors, a compass and pinches costing in all about Rs. 150.

Fibre Industry.

Fibre Industry.—It is one of the few important industries of the district and is mainly carried on in the southern parts of the district. Hemp which is used as the main raw material in fibre-making is grown extensively in Rajapur and Deogad talukas. It is well-known for its toughness and durability. Naturally Rajapur and Deogad are the main centres in which the industry is located. Hemp fibre is used in the manufacture of fishing nets.

No tools except a wooden spinning wheel are used in the making of fibre. To get an uniform quality of hemp staple, the Department of Cottage Industries have recently invented a new spinning wheel which is now being used by a few trained artisans. The new wheel has improved the quality and increased the quantity of fibre production which can now be used for deep water fishing.

The fibre is sold in local market and is also sent to Bombay and other coastal areas.

There were three fibres workers co-operative societies in 1959. They had 116 members, Rs. 1,701 as share capital, Rs. 116 as reserved fund. These societies produced fibre articles for domestic use also.

Fishing Industry.

Fishing Industry.—Ratnagiri district has a large sea coast con- venient to fishing. There are 119 fishing villages and towns out of which Bankot, Dabhol, Jaigad, Jaitapur, Malvan, Ratnagiri, Vengurla and Vijayadurg are the important fishing centres. Out of a total fishing population of 70,000, about 21,000 are active fishermen.

The district was known for fishing ever since 16th century. Almost till the first half of this century, methods adopted for catching the fish were old and crude, they consisted of boats varying in weight from 4 to 9� tons with one or two masts and nets varying in size from 10 to 20 feet in length and from 5 to 30 feet in breadth.

The fishermen now use tools and equipment like dugouts used for fishing in creeks, plank-built boats, machwa type boats and nets of different kinds like bag nets, drift and gill nets, ghol nets, wall nets, cast nets, hooks, lines, etc. The cost of dugout weighing about a ton is approximately 100 and of a plank-built boat and a machwa varies from Rs. 200 to Rs. 1,000 and from Rs. 500 to Rs. 5,000, respectively, depending upon tonnage and size of a boat. In 1958, there were about 3,700 fishing boats in the district or which nine were mechanised. The life of these boats varies from 15 to 30 years depending upon their handling and preservation. The repairing or boats include caulking the gap with cotton waste, replacement of planks, painting, etc. The cost of repairs varies from Rs. 50 to Rs. 200.

It is a small scale industry in which fishermen pool all their resources and the catch as well. The catches are then divided among the active partners on the basis of investment of capital. An owner of the boat who is supposed to be an employer gets two shares from the fish catch. The rest of the catches are divided among the crew, each getting share according to the number of nets he has contributed. These fishermen are busy during spring tides. The industry is slack during monsoon when sea is stormy. Various kinds of fish like surma, kurti moa, kokar, karel, jambosa, latar, valvas, etc., weighing about 3,50,000 maunds and valued at Rs. 8,000,000 is annually caught on the Ratnagiri coast. Most of the fish is sold in local market and a small percentage which is processed is usually exported to Bombay and Poona.

Some fishermen extract oil from the liver of sharks. The fishermen on this coast are poor as the returns they get are considerably low due to the existence of middlemen. Their main difficulties are in respect of transportation and marketing facilities which are inadequate. There is, therefore, very little scope for export trade in fish.

There were nine fishermen's co-operative societies in the district in 1958-59.

Handloom Weaving.

Handloom Weaving.—In 1940, about 600 workers were estimated to be engaged in handloom weaving. This number has gone up considerably due to increase in the number of looms in the period thereafter. There are about 1,000 looms most of which are fly shuttle and pit looms. The industry is located at Khed, Dabhol, Guhagar, Kan-kavli, Kudal, Math, Oni and Sawantwadi.

Cotton yarn of different counts 20^s, 30^s and 40^s which is imported from Bombay, is used in the manufacture of cloth by the artisans. The products manufactured are mostly panchas, saris and carpets to suit the needs of local population.

The main equipment of a weaver consists of a loom and its accessories such as shuttles, creel, bobbins, healds, pirns and dobbis. A handloom costs about Rs. 150. The total cost of equipment and tools varies with the number of tools an artisan possesses.

Production.

Panchas, Saris of medium variety and eight yards in length are the main goods produced. An average weaver is able to weave a sari per day and earns Rs. 1-8-0 to Rs. 2. The products are mostlv sold in local market.

These artisans are always short of finance required for purchase of cotton yarn which is now supplied by co-operative societies to those who are their members. There were 10 weavers co-operative societies at the end of June 1959. They had 563 members owing 684 looms, Rs. 12,475 as paid up capital and Rs. 16,921 as reserve fund.

Leather Industry.

Leather Industry.—It is a most common industry, found all over the district. Dapoli, Chiplun, Ratnagiri, Malvan, Sawantwadi, and Vengurla are its important centres.

The industry required tanned leather for soles, dyed and fancy leather for uppers, tacks, nails, leather rings and polishing material. Most of these articles are brought from Bombay with the exception of sole leather which is brought from Satara and Kolhapur.

A pair of scrapers, iron, spike, art, hasti, anvil, hammer and wooden blocks are the main tools required in leather working. An average artisan keeps a set of equipment worth Rs. 10 to Rs. 15. Very few artisans possess leather sewing machines.

The main products are chappals, having three soles. A good artisan produces three pairs of chappals in two days and gets about Rs. 16 including his wages. Each pair is sold at Rs. 5-8-0 or Rs. 6.

The products are sold mostly in local market. Artisans in rural areas do not get work sufficient to keep them busy throughout the year. Naturally they supplement their income by working as farm labourers.

There were four leather workers co-operative societies which had 89 members, Rs. 1,900 as paid up capital and Rs. 453 as reserve fund, in 1958-59.

Salt Industry.

Salt Industry.— Although the district has a large coastal length, salt is not manufactured on a large scale as the soil is not favourable to its production. Shiroda, a village in Vengurla is the only major centre of salt manufacturing in the district. Small salt pans covering an area of less than 10 acres each are found at Malvan, Ratnagiri and Vengurla proper; but the percentage of production of salt at these centres is very small. About 100 workers are employed in the peak season at Shiroda. The industry provides employment to a few persons. The wages of these workers vary from Rs. 1.25 to 1.75 per day.

Pick-axe to excavate the soil, phavada to collect salt and a rake to facilitate a compact growth after breaking salt crystals are the few tools required in salt making. This set of tools costs about Rs. 25.

The total production of salt in 1947 was 49,000 Bengali Maunds valued at Rs. 45,000. The product is sold in local market as well as sent to Belgaum, Kolhapur, and other places in Ratnagiri district.

There were two mithagar hangar co-operative societies, one at Ratnagiri and the other at Shiroda in 1958-59. They had 71 members, Rs. 1,210 as paid up capital and Rs. 625 as reserve fund in the same year.

III-LABOUR ORGANISATION.

The district is essentially rural in character and has very few organised industries. Out of the total population of 1,711,964. hardly about 1,500 were engaged in organised industries in 1954. There was therefore no scope for the organisation of trade unions. The only trade union which was in existence was the State Transport Workers Union. It was registered under the Trade Unions Act, on 28th September 1953.

The union had 209 members at the end of March 1954. Its source of income was contributions collected from members. The total income of the union in 1953-54 was Rs. 1,258. Its main item of expenditure was maintenance of establishment on which it spent Rs. 360 in 1953-54. The union had no fund but had assets valued at Rs. 898. It had no liabilities. It was affiliated to the Indian National Trade Union Congress.

Labour Legislation.

The relations between industrial employees and employers have been regulated with the enacting of the Bombay Industrial Relations Act, 1946, by the Government of Bombay and the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, enacted by the Central Government. The former was brought into force in the old Bombay State on 29th September 1947 and the latter on 1st April 1947. Both the laws provide a machinery for settlement of industrial disputes either by conciliation or by arbitration under the Bombay Industrial Relations Act or conciliation or adjudication under the Industrial Disputes Act.

No union from this district was registered as a Representative Union under the Bombay Industrial Relations Act; similarly no case was referred to the Industrial Court, to the Industrial Tribunal, or to Labour Court from this district during 1950-54. The district did not have any welfare centres and the Employees State Insurance Act and the Employees Provident Fund Act, 1952, were not applied to any industry in it.

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