Indian Express 07.01.2010
Pay a part of dues till Jan 11, MC tells laundry mart washermen
The Municipal Corporation has given the Sector-15 Modern Laundry Mart washermen time till January 11 to pay a part of their outstanding bills. Sixteen washermen of the Dhobi Ghat Association were operating from here. However, after a dispute over the payment of outstanding electricity and water bills, the laundry mart has been lying shut for more than six months now.
The washermen had pending bills worth more than Rs 2 lakh. Of this, Rs 85,000 has already been paid. The members of the association state that the civic body had assured to pay the bills during the trial period but MC failed to keep its promise.
The members of the association met Mayor Anu Chatrath today, who asked them to pay Rs 50,000. Chatrath said, “Once the association pays Rs 50,000 we would consider the option of paying the remaining amount in instalments. The laundry mart that had been functioning successfully has been shut for the past many months. We will work out a solution to make it functional.”
The association has also demanded that the coin-operated machines be handed over to them instead of officials of the civic body supervising these. In lieu the civic body could increase the monthly rent charged from them.
The dhobi ghat in Sector 15 was the first to be converted into a modern laundry mart.
