Rajasthan's Hindaun town gains popularity with its trademark sandstone

Hindaun (Rajasthan), Aug.10 (ANI): A small town in Rajasthan has made a remarkable growth in the last one decade. It could be possible due to its sandstone industry, which has brought this place popularity not just across India but also in different parts of the world.

Today Hindaun town in Rajasthan's Karauli district holds a prominent position on global map for processing fine quality sandstone. It is exported to foreign countries in a good quantity.

The town has also given employment to a large number of persons. There are over 30 Gang Saw units here where around 10,000 individuals have gained direct employment.

One of the main reasons why this industry has thrived over the years here is the availability of sandstones in abundance. Also, the reason behind this success is the availability of raw material and its connectivity with main Delhi-Mumbai rail network.

Rough sandstone is brought from the surrounding places like Badi, Basedi, Bharatpur and Dhaulpur and is processed in Hindaun

Processed sandstones are exported to countries like United Kingdom, the United States and the Middle East countries.

"Our sandstone industry is very big. There are 25 units (of sandstone processing) here. There is a huge potential in this industry. We export sandstones and also supply to cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Bangalore. A lot of people visit here with queries and place orders," said Mahesh Singhal, a trader of processed sandstones, Hindaun, Rajasthan.

The granite industry here has provided ample employment opportunities to the local residents. Some people say it has grown five times over the years.

"The (sandstone industry) has grown five times over the past 15-20 years. Earlier, we were using small machines but since the work is on a large scale now, we have large units using bigger machines," said Panna Lal Gupta, owner of a sandstone-processing unit.

Rajasthan is the biggest exporter of sandstone in the country and the majority of its part is contributed by Hindaun town.

Sandstone mined in the area of Bharatpur and Karauli district are in great demand and is giving close competition to white marble.

In world stone market, 27 percent production of stone is done by India alone which employs around 1.5 million people in our country.

Indian stones are also leading the global market and India has become the third largest exporter of stones.

The exporting countries of sand stones from Hindaun are Dubai, UK, USA, and Gulf, where in a year more than 200 crore rupees worth sand stone items are exported.

Sandstone reserves in Rajasthan, estimated at 900 million tons, are spread over in the districts of Bharatpur, Dholpur, Kota, Jodhpur, Sawai-Madhopur, Bundi, Chittorgarh, Bikaner, Jhalawar, Karauli, Nagaur and Jaisalmer.

Prominent clusters of sandstone activity in the state are Dholpur, Karauli, Hindaun City, Sikandra, Bijolia and Jodhpur.

Many major historical landmarks in India like the Red Fort, Rashtrapati Bhawan, Parliament House, India Gate, Umaid Bhawan Palace, Fatehpur Sikri etc. are made of sandstone from Rajasthan. By Lokendra Singh (ANI)