Railways to reintroduce Kulhads

January 21, 2019 Hot from the Oven Valli Sarvani No comments

In order to reduce the usage of plastic cups and paper cups at the railway stations Indian Railway is planning to bring back kulhads at catering units.

Kulhads were first introduced by former railway minister Lalu Prasad 15 years ago. At that time, he ordered to serve hot beverages in kulhads. However, they could not gain much attention due to their poor quality.

Now, a circular has been issued by the Railway Minister Piyush Goyal instructing the caterers at Varanasi and Rae Bareli on utilizing kulhads. In addition to kulhads, glasses and plates will also be used. All these are made with terracotta.

The initiative will help the local potters by providing a huge market. Currently, they are struggling to meet their basic needs.

Moreover, these terracotta products give passengers a refreshing experience. The circular stated that IRCTC advised to take necessary action to bring eco-friendly and terracotta products like kulhads and glasses to serve passengers.

The chairman of Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) had written a letter to the Railway Minister in December last year.

In this letter, he stated that Varanasi and Rae Bareli have several potters around who are struggling to meet their daily needs. Hence, he suggested to use their products to generate employment facilities.

The potters have been given electric wheels under the Kumhar Sashaktikaran Yojana to improve their productivity. With these equipment, they can increase their productivity to 600 cups a day from 100 cups a day.

If they could sell all these products, they can a generate a handsome income. Now that Indian Railways agreed to this proposal of utilizing terracotta products, these potters will have readymade market, says KVIC Chairman.

Currently, beverages are served in paper and plastic cups at most railway stations. Now, as the government is battling for ‘Made in India’ products, kulhads could be serving for a longer time.

Image credit: Photo by Ramesh R from Pexels (Free for commercial use)