Chuck kulhars, NID moots paper mugs

VADODARA: The Indian Railways seem to have decided to go beyond kulhars and khadi upholstery. If railway minister Lalu Prasad is keen on giving passengers the rustic feel, the National Institute of Design (NID) will put to use all its design tools in this endeavour.
And considering Lalu''s fascination for kulhars, it is surprising that their first project is a disposable paper mug!
In fact, the railways and NID will set up a Design Cell, which will give the railways everything from disposable paper mugs in bogie toilets to installing global positioning systems on the coaches.The NID''s proposal made almost four years ago will see the light of day now.
Railway officials headed by Railway Board member R S Virdi had visited the design school to examine the mugs designed by a post graduate student. The team also initiated the move for setting up the ''Design School'', originally proposed
by NID.
The disposable mug is among the seven products currently being developed at the National Design Business Incubator (NDBI), a joint venture of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and NID. NDBI chief operating officer Prashant Singh Kutaula said, "The team of railway officials had visited the school and found it feasible to introduce disposable mugs, which disintegrate within 15 minutes.
They have proposed a trial on the Ashram Express for three months. Then they might introduce them on other trains in the Western Railway." However, he said that they would have to wait for a few more weeks to get the design registered before going commercial.
"The team also had a look at an indigenously designed dustbin, which crushes the waste. The design has been completed but requires some changes before being introduced on trains," added Kutaula.
The team also evinced interest on another NID project of incorporating global positioning system (GPS) on its coaches to ensure a rational usage pattern. Kutaula said, "There are about 12,000 railway coaches and it becomes tough to manage all the coaches. By implementing GPS on railway coaches, they can be easily managed through a central server. The railways would know which coaches are being over-utilised and which are under-utilised." NID executive director Darlie Koshy said, "The railways team is keen on incorporating some products designed by our students. We are optimistic about the project and are waiting for a sanction from the railways."
Talking to TNN Virdi said, "Although some ideas were outlandish, some were extremely interesting and could be incorporated in order to provide the railways a face-lift. As far as the disposable mug is concerned, we are analysing its implementation."