ALANG: Are you looking for an antique Greek compass, a Swedish monocular, Turkish eye jewellery, a gramophone, a life jacket, an engine for a speed boat or Ceylon tea? If so, don't look for these goods in lifestyle stores in the metros. Rather, pick them up for throwaway prices at the flea market near Alang's ship-breaking yard.

One of the auxiliaries of the ship-breaking industry here is the five-km-long flea market, lying perpendicular to the Alang coast. The market comprises over 500 shops, which sell goods unloaded from demolished ships.

"The demand is highest for furniture; the variety is mind boggling. Other sought-after items are monoculars and Turkish eyes," says Arvind Pandya, a furniture trader in the market.

Needless to say, the items found in the flea market are the biggest source of revenue for ship-breakers after the steel that is generated. "We earn our revenue by auctioning cabins and sundry items of daily use, like furniture, engineering equipment, home appliances and even books," says a ship-breaker.

He says each cabin of a cargo ship is auctioned at anything between Rs3 lakh to Rs25 lakh. "However, if it's a passenger ship, every cabin fetches over Rs1 crore. There are hundreds of such cabins on every passenger ship."

The cabins are auctioned before they are opened up or inspected. Every item in the cabin is up for sale. "It's a high-risk business. In a cabin sold for just Rs2 lakh, one may find diamonds. And in a cabin sold for crore, one may find nothing," he says.

Besides being cheap, the flea market's goods are also of excellent quality. "That is why traders from all across Asia come to Alang. They buy goods from here in bulk and buy them much cheaper compared to what they would get elsewhere. This, even after we sell goods at a premium of over 300 per cent," says Sunderji Pandya, president of the Alang Furniture Traders Association. "Everyone gains. Many small traders are now millionaires."

However, the future is not so rosy. Countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh are giving fierce competition to India in the ship-breaking industry, because of which there is a short supply of goods in Alang's flea market. A few shops have closed down, and several cite a lack of adequate business.

"We are not getting business thanks to the high excise and customs duties. On top of that, we have environmentalists crying hoarse against the ship-breaking industry," says Arvind Pandya.

Needless to say, all in the market are waiting with baited breath for the arrival of the French warship Clemenceau. Because it literally holds in its vaults countless treasures for Alang's unique bazaar.