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Dharavi, the second largest slum in Asia, is also home to as many as 20,000 small-scale units manufacturing garments, leather goodsand plastic items.
As the debate on cattle slaughter rages on TV channels,, small businesses here suffer silently. The tough new rules that also ban trading of cattle for slaughter have turned the process of getting hide an arduous exercise.
The many leather ‘boutiques’ that line Dharavi’s main road seem to be reeling under the slaughter ban imposed under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, in May.
PVC and China foamEnter GK Leathers, a small boutique, and owner Satyendra Yadav is all smiles and ready to showcase his collection of bags and belts. As you get talking, he tells you about his family, originally from Bihar, which had a humble beginning in the leather business almost 30 years ago. “Buffalo hide is the only leather apt for making best quality leather bags and goat leather can only be used to make good quality jackets or gloves,” he explains.
But his enthusiasm ebbs when you turn the topic to the new slaughter rules. He rues that the rule extends to all animals under the cattle category, including ox, buffaloes, camels, cows, steers and heifers, affecting the supply of leather in the market.
Most manufacturers in Dharavi, like Yadav, source leather from Kanpur, Agra, Hyderabad, Ambur and Ranipet to produce bags, belts and apparels. But with rising leather prices and falling demand, most of these units have been forced to rethink their business model.
“We will have to shift to manufacturing bags using synthetic PVC leather and China foam... We have no other option.” Yadav adds.
He, however, doesn’t think he would lose out much since he believes PVC would make his goods cheaper and attract more customers.
Soaib from High Design, a boutique that is into exports, has already shifted the focus of the business. “We have already started searching for orders and manufacturing PVC bags.”
Some units had ventured into making PVC products even before the new rules were introduced and are now concentrating on growing that segment.
Raju Khade of Rank Leather, a materials supplier, says: “Had we been only in the leather business, our profits would have halved because of the fall in the demand and supply of leather. The new rules did not affect our business much because we also manufactured PVC products.”
Walk down the 90-feet road and you reach a dingy lane. The area is called Chamda Bazaar, literally leather market. There are more leather units here.
On the impact of the new slaughter rules, Mehbooba, brand manager of Najma Leathers, says: “We use goat and sheep leather to manufacture jackets. We barely use buffalo hide. If need be, we will substitute it with other materials.”
But generally the mood is sombre as traditional leather manufacturers are left exploring alternatives in the light of the cattle slaughter ban. For many, shifting to PVC or China foam is the only viable option left, but there is stiff competition in this segment market from Chinese exporters and local outfits, alike.
(The writer is an intern at BusinessLine Mumbai bureau)
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