Ahmedabad washermen jack up rates; cleaning & pressing of clothes to cost more

Get ready to pay more money to have your clothes cleaned and pressed, as dhobis across the city have decided to hike their rates from January 1.

The Ahmedabad Dhobi Association called an urgent meeting of their area presidents at the Vastrapur Lake today. In a unanimous decision, they passed a resolution to impose a 20% to 50 % price hike for their cleaning and pressing services.

This rise has come after a two-year gap, and looking at the high cost of living and rising prices of essential commodities during this period, the dhobi association has decided to increase their service charge.

According to the new rates suggested by the association, a Re 1 hike will be imposed for the pressing of a pair of clothes. Thus, instead of Rs 5, you will have to pay Rs 6 from the New Year. A 50 paise increase has also been imposed on single pieces of clothes. Thus, instead of Rs3.50, you will have to pay Rs 4 for the pressing of jeans or cotton shirts.

If you are a big fan of the steam press, then you should think twice before going for this kind of ironing. There will be a 100% increase in the rates for steam press. The charges will go up to Rs 20, which is double the amount of the current rate.

The hike in the case of saris is a whopping 50% (steam press) -- instead of Rs 20, you have to spend Rs 30 to get your sari steam pressed.

The association has also imposed a big hike in washing charges as well. For a shirt and pant, the new charge is Rs 20, a 33% increase from the previous Rs 15. Washing charges for a double bed sheet has gone up by the same margin.

Members of the association are saying that the high cost of living has compelled them to increase their charges. "Look at the prices of vegetables, petrol and electricity, we are barely managing to survive on our current income," said Ramesh Gulabji, president of the association, who feels that people should understand their pain too.

According to him, in Ahmedabad, almost 30,000 families are involved in this business, most of them struggling to make ends meet. Some members of the association have put the blame on electricity charges in the last two years. "The minimum electricity bill we pay is not less than Rs3000 to Rs4000 a month, so you can imagine our situation," said Bhanu Prasad, vice-president of the association.