Kumhar - Indian EarthenWare Artisans

Surviving Against the Wisdom of Urban Indian Economists

khanabhojan — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 14:10:33 +0000

Kumhar – Indian EarthenWare Artisans – Crafting an Efficient, Post Modern, Low Carbon Footprint Global Future – Against Traditionalist and Modern Wisdom and Economy

Laloo Yadav ne kiya Rail Neer ka patta saaf

khanabhojan — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 13:53:26 +0000

While the developed countries are moving from the wastage of bottled and packaged water towards urging customers to demand clean tap water, the Indian Railway Minister who has been much feted for his managerial experience in the Indian Railways, is, it seems bent on reintroducing forcibly, branded and packaged water for Indian premium travellers travelling on prime Indian trains. What a tragedy of wisdom from the same minister, who once was all in favour of earthen cups for tea to be served on railway platforms – kulhad.
A report in Hindustan Times :
PATNA: When the food served to railway minister Lalu Prasad on a special train during his recent visit to Karnataka left a bitter taste in his mouth, the minister summarily transferred at least three railway officials.

Here’s an update on the episode: the Railway Board has decided to supply branded food on trains.

Sources said the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation has been asked to chalk out details and implement the decision at the earliest – on premier trains, to begin with.

Rail Neer will no longer be available in Rajdhani Express and Shatabdi Express trains as there is a proposal to provide branded mineral water with the meal to the passengers.

Campaign against bottled water by London Mayor

khanabhojan — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 13:51:13 +0000

In a bid to position London as a vibrant and modern tourist friendly city, welcoming to aware, sensitive and carbon aware consumers, the London mayor has introduced the launch of a campaign to encourage restaurant customers to REJECT bottled water and request for clean, refreshing tap water, to drink.

Here is a story from Yahoo news web site :

LONDON (AFP) – London Mayor Ken Livingstone on Tuesday launched a blitz against bottled mineral water, urging restaurant customers in the British capital to ask for tap water to help the environment.

Livingstone said tap water was not only cheaper but also comes without the heavy carbon footprint of transporting bottled varieties by road and often vast distances by air from countries as far away as Fiji and New Zealand.

“People should be encouraged to ask and feel confident they can ask in restaurants for tap water, rather than have to pay through the nose for bottled water,” he told his weekly news conference.

The initiative, backed by utility Thames Water and environmental groups, follows recent comments from environment minister Phil Woolas on the two-billion-pound (2.6-billion-euro, 3.9-billion-dollar) a year industry.

Woolas told a BBC television documentary that “it borders on morally being unacceptable” for Britons to spend so much on mineral water when there was a worldwide water shortage and pure drinking water was readily available.

Jenny Jones, a Green Party representative on the London Assembly, said: “This is another step to making London a world city in fighting climate change.”

Bottled water was “disastrous for the planet” because of its use of plastics, the “ludicrous” distances it was often transported and Britain’s “appalling” level of recycling of bottles after use, she added.

According to industry body the Bottled Water Information Office, the average Briton drinks 37.6 litres of bottled water each year, with six million litres drunk every day.

But it said bottled water accounts for only 0.03 percent of Britain’s total carbon emissions, while the industry was committed to more environmentally friendly methods of production, transport and containers.