Indian Railways To Bring Back Clay Cups To Replace Plastic
To stop the use of hazardous plastic, Indian Railways has decided to bring back ‘kulhads’ (earthen cup) to replace plastic and paper cups.
According to the details shared by Minister of Railways, Piyush Goyal, in the first phase, caterers at Varanasi and Rae Bareli stations have been instructed to use terracotta-made ‘kulhads’, glasses and plates to serve the travellers and ditch the use of plastic cutlery.
The three major reasons behind introducing terracotta-made ‘kulhads’ are, to provide convenience to travellers, create a huge market for local potters and ease the burden of plastic waste on the environment.
Zonal railways and the IRCTC are advised to take necessary action to ensure the use of locally produced, environmentally savvy terracotta products like ‘kulhads’, glasses and plates for serving items to passengers through all static units at Varanasi and Rae Bareli railway stations with immediate effect so that local terracotta product manufacturers could easily market their products, the circular issued by the board to the chief commercial managers of Northern Railway and the North Eastern Railway stated.
The use of earthen tableware in trains was proposed by the chairman of Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) in December 2018.
We have been giving potters electric wheels which have increased their productivity from making 100 cups to around 600 cups a day. It was important to give them a market to sell their wares and generate income. With the railways agreeing to our proposal, lakhs of potters have now got a readymade market, KVIC Chairman V K Saxena told PTI.
This is not the first time Indian Railways has taken a step to curb the use of plastic cutlery and tableware. Last year in May, railways decided to replace plastic/polymer plates with the eco-friendly disposable plates made of bagasse.
Indian railways also introduced bio-toilets, and modernised its toilets with auto janitor system to automatically clean and deodrise toilets, create green corridors, which ensures zero toilet discharge on rail tracks. Next it introduced disposable, eco-friendly hand towels and pillow covers made of biodegradable cotton.
With all these initiatives, Indian Railways has been steadily working towards its Swachh Rail Swachh Bharat mission.
