'Kulhad chai' will soon be served across railway stations, airports and malls after 15 years

'Kulhad chai' (tea in earthen cup) is going to make a comeback across major railway stations in India after 15 years. In 2004, then railway minister Lalu Prasad Yadav had introduced 'kulhads' to keep the railway stations clean and provide large scale employment to kulhad makers.

However, gradually, kulhads were replaced with plastic and paper cups. Now, Cabinet Minister Nitin Gadkari has asked Railway Minister Piyush Goyal to make kulhads mandatory in 100 railway stations. "I have written a letter to Piyush Goyal to make use of kulhads mandatory at 100 railway stations and also suggested airports and state transport undertakings having tea stalls at bus depots to make the use of kulhads mandatory. We will also encourage malls to have kulhad tea stalls," Gadkari said.

According to Gadkari, use of kulhads will provide a huge market to potters and also help conserve the environment.

In addition to this, Gadkari has also informed Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) to supply equipment for production of kulhads. On this, KVIC chairman Vinai Kumar Saxena claimed that the khadi commission distributed 10,000 electric pottery wheels to potters for making kulhad in 2018. This year, 25,000 electric pottery wheels are to be distributed, Saxena added.