Alang- Small Town of Gujarat
Located in culturally important Bhavnagar district of Gujarat, Alang today is known worldwide for ship dismantling. It is world's largest ship dismantling yard. Almost half of world's ships sail here for disposal. Gujarat itself is favorite among tourists for its distinct culture and taste and thus is popularly known as Jewel of the West. Bhavnagar is located in Gujarat and is very famous for its culture that is seen not only in its people but also seen throughout its infrastructure. It is also known as commercial district of Gujarat. Alang is a small town located 50 km from Bhavnagar on south east. It is situated on the Gulf of Khambat on eastern coast of Saurashtra. Geographically located between Bhavnagar and Talaja.
Earlier Alang came in a category of spotless dirt-free beach. From past three decades it started been used as a yard for ship demolition. It is popular among tourists who come here to witness beach line that is full of warships, container vessels and all sorts of large vessels bearing tons of deadweight. Thousands of workers are employed here who work in day and night shifts. They dismantle these ships and finely break them into scrap. For some visitors this ship yard also serves as a picnic spot whereas others come here for business purposes. Location of Alang encourages tourism. Tourists visiting Bhavnagar include Alang in their itinerary for one day visit.
'Knock Nevis' also known as 'Seawise agent' is longest ship ever made in world's history and thus carried highest deadweight. It sailed all its way to Alang and was dismantled here. Thus, this place gained its popularity. Likewise other ships from around the world sail here and get dumped. Workers make use of high tides as during high tides large vessels are bleached. Thereafter each ship is disposed. Whatever left over is made secure and the rest is reduced into scrap. The entire length from Bhavnagar to Alang is loaded with plenty of scrap. Throughout the way one can see is enormous quantity of steelyard. This diminishes its beauty and takes away charm.
Food And Accommodation:-
Cuisine of Alang is mainly vegetarian. Both in Alang and adjacent Bhavnagar tourists can have an experience of Gujarati cuisine. Sweets are found everywhere. Tourists do not miss an opportunity to taste Gujarati thali. Alcohol is not permitted in Alang and elsewhere in Gujarat. However, one can grab fruit beers. Accommodation is not easily available. Alang does not provide lots of options for stay. Most of the tourists prefer to stay in Bhavnagar where they can find accommodation ranging from five star to budget. However, Hotel Het Palace is newly opened in Alang. It is 4 km from dumping yard. It has a restaurant which serves Gujarati and Kathiavadi foods. It also serves Chinese, Punjabi and South Indian.
History:-
Town of Bhavnagar was found by Bhavsinhji Gohil. Royal residence was located in its center and complete town was fortified. It was known for its glory for almost two centuries. Commodities were traded from Singapore, Persia, Africa etc..... However, today such activities are carried out only through Alang and Ghoga ports. On advice of Gandhiji Bhavnagar was handed to people's representative in 1948. Alang shipyard was formed in June 1983. Best time to visit this place is from October to March when sun rays are not very harsh and one can enjoy sightseeing without much difficulty. It can be easily reached from Bhavnagar either by a bus, taxi or auto. Bhavnagar is well connected to other regions of India and one can opt to reach here either via air, railway or bus services.
Ship Breaking Yard:-
The Alang-Sosiyo ship breaking yard was established in the year 1983. Since then it has disposed thousands of large vessels and it is known to produce scrap metal of almost 3 million metric tons. It is biggest ship yard in world. There are a total of 173 plots along the beach.
Lack Of Facilities:-
Thousands of workers are doing disposal job in Alang. People of Alang are making a living out of this job. However, living conditions and working conditions are raising a lot of questions and are a matter of concern. It is reported after a complete analysis that rules are not implemented properly and thus posing a risk for workers. Conditions over there are hardly improving. No proper safety measures are undertaken during working hours. There are no health facilities. Suppose a worker meets with accident or a severe work related trauma, he needs to be carried all the way to Bhavnagar which is almost 50 km away from Alang. There are no modern day facilities in the town. Report says there are just two local hospitals which lack operation theater and other facilities. Even an ambulance is not readily available.
Impact Of Ship Dismantling:-
Since 1983, yard met with almost 400 fire accidents. In these accidents, 141 workers met with death and the rest 301 were severely injured. Ship breaking procedures carried out there violates a number of rules. It is causing a lot of pollution creating lots of poisonous wastes. They do not dump or discard scrap in proper manner and also rights of workers is violated. It creates severe impact on environment. People living in Alang are suffering from serious respiratory tract diseases along with skin diseases. Dismantling produces large amount of waste and cattle feeding on it is reported to die. There are no educational facilities for the children of workers. There is no good sanitation facilities and water is all been polluted. Not only water in Alang but also of nearby villages is known to have been polluted. Wells are contaminated and have thus been abandoned. Now the situations are such that people are suffering from water scarcity and salinity.
Government is taking a lot of measures to improve standard of living and are working on safety measures incorporation at disposal yard. Housing facilities is been made available for the workers of Alang. Labor Officer and Special Assistant Commissioner of Labor are appointed to work for the betterment of people. N.G.O's train a lot of workers from time to time regarding safety procedures. They also include in their program proper handling of poisonous wastes along with adoption of safety measures during critical situations and emergency.
Ship yard industry yearly earns almost 6,000 crores. Per day, at least one ship is dismantled. Workers work on daily wages and hardly earn rupees 250 a day. These workers are from various states of India like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Orissa etc..... Rest of the workers monthly earn a salary of Rs: 5,000 to 10,000. Labor laws are violated to a large extent.
Alang Market:-
Alang is 50 km from Bhavnagar. The whole journey is unpleasant and drive is very bumpy. All along the stretch one can witness flames, scrap and disposed parts of large vessels. Businessmen are seen bargaining with local shopkeepers. The rates offered here are very reasonable and thus hoteliers, owners of factories and others come here to purchase goods that are not easily available elsewhere. There is no question of concern regarding quality of any product. Everything been sold here is of high quality as ship builders do not compromise to build their ship with any low quality product. Everything on ship has to be of high quality to tackle any sort of unfavorable marine conditions. Kitchen appliances sold here are made out of best stainless steel. Sector of hospitality are keen on purchasing refrigerators, sandwich makers, dish washers, kitchen utensils, soda makers, dough makers and other amenities.
A cottage industry is build on the road to Alang. It sells carpets, crockery, refrigerators and many other equipments. Hundreds of shops are seen along the way where purchasing requires a hardcore bargain. There is no assigned guarantee or warranty offered with the purchase of the product. But since everything is of high quality, there isn't any room left for concern of faulty equipments. These appliances are of great designs rarely seen in India. Thus, once purchased from here, equipment hardly requires any repair.
Owners of various factories visit Alang in search of motors, generators, tube chargers, oil purifiers and other equipments. Thus, Alang is not only a tourist destination but turned into a spot for small business too. These industrial products are of high quality and top notch which will minimize repairs at least during product's life cycle. Thus, factory owners from Chennai, Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Noida and other industrial hubs are seen approaching here more and more. Not only industrialists and people running institutions or people from hospitality sector shop here, in fact shopping is seen to be widely done for domestic purposes too. One can purchase household items, furniture, kitchen amenities, carpets and other things at very reasonable price. Kids would love a gift of video games purchased from here.
Ships sail all the way from their respective countries to Alang. Here ship breaker has to get clearance from custom duty along with board of maritime and board of pollution control. Now it's time for traders to visit the vessel that is going to get dismantled. They deal with various products that amuse them and try to negotiate ultimate price. These traders purchase goods after making payments and keep them ready to be sold in their shops. From these shops, after a hard bargaining one can purchase goods.
Traders if engaged in conversation can share their experience of greener Alang that existed couple of decades ago. There were green fields on both sides of the road whereas now the whole area looks dumping yard. Market initially was confined only to Alang but now it has spread so widely that it stretches all along the route from Bhavnagar to Alang. Traders set their shops all along the way selling toothpick to water boats. Farmers have leased their farms to traders and earn a good amount on monthly basis. Tourists mainly visit Bhavnagar as it is cultural capital of Gujarat. Thus, they tend to purchase goods from market located near to Bhavnagar and do not travel till yard. Thus, business of shopkeepers located nearby yard is at risk. Only few tourists visiting Bhavnagar include in their itinerary a day trip to Alang.
Alang is not just a place for ship dismantling but also a tourist destination and thus explorers from India as well as from world visit this small town and get amused with hectic life schedules of workers of ship yards and magnificent ships which get dismantled here. Apart from this, it's a favorite destination for businessmen traveling from around the country to get best products at reasonable rates.
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