Alang

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Alang
State - District(s)	Gujarat - Bhavnagar
Area
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
Population (2001) - Density	18,464 -

Alang is a census town in Bhavnagar district in the state of Gujarat, India. It is the leading centre of the worldwide ship breaking and recycling industry. Close to 99% of the materials from the ship are recycled.

The shipyards at Alang recycle about 50% of the ships salvaged in the world. The yards are located on the Gulf of Khambat, 50 kilometres southeast of Bhavnagar. Visiting Westerners complain that before shipbreaking began there in June 1983 the beach at Alang was pristine and unspoiled. However, locals say that the work means the difference between an early death from starvation and a reasonably paid job by local standards with a steady income that can be used to support their families.

Large supertankers, car ferries and container ships are beached during high tide, and as the tide recedes, hundreds of manual laborers dismantle each ship, salvaging what they can, and reducing the rest into scrap. Tens of thousands of low-paid jobs are supported by this activity, and millions of tons of steel are recovered.

The salvage yards at Alang have generated controversy about working conditions, workers' living conditions, and the impact on the environment. One major problem is that despite many serious work-related injuries, the nearest full service hospital is 50 kilometres away in Bhavnagar. Alang itself is served by a small Red Cross hospital which offers only limited services.

Almost one in every six workers could be suffering from an early stage of asbestosis and are at serious risk of contracting lung cancer, according to an expert committee set up by India’s Supreme Court.

A shipyard at Alang is possibly the model for the shipyard described in the Iain Banks novel, The Business (1999). A documentary on the industry in Alang entitled Shipbreakers was produced by Michael Kot in 2004.

A more modern and safer ship-breaking yard is located nearby at Pipavav.

In January 2006 Alang became the center of an international controversy when the Supreme Court of India temporarily prohibited the French ship Clemenceau from entering the port. [1]

[edit] Demographics

As of 2001 India census^GRIndia, Alang had a population of 18,464. Males constitute 82% of the population and females 18%. Alang has an average literacy rate of 62%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with 89% of the males and 11% of females literate. 7% of the population is under 6 years of age.