Potters from villages near Belagavi met Union Minister of State for Railways Suresh Angadi and showed him various types of earthern tea and coffee cups they make.
They urged him to instruct the Railways to procure such cups to replace single-use plastic cups that the department is planning to stop using from October 2 this year.
A team of potters from Saundatti met the Minister in his office and showed him various designs of cups. Sangappa Basappa Kumbar of Huli said that potters were now making cups with handles and finger-holders following complaints that it was difficult to drink hot tea out of Kulhads. “If the Railways buys our products, it will help potters who are suffering due to increased use of plastic and rubber material,” he said.
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The Minister said that the aim of the Railways was to ensure the use of eco-friendly material on trains and to achieve this end, clay, paper, arecanut cups and others would be used instead.
He said that he would ask officers to study the feasibility of using mud cups and also explore the possibility of procuring such material directly form potters.