Do you miss kulhad tea? Rain and Flood Blame | Calcutta News

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KOLKATA: If you had an argument in the morning with the roadside tea vendor about tea served in paper cups instead of your favorite bhnar (earthen cups or kulhad), blame him for the incessant rains. and the floods in Bengal. Kolkata gets most of its kulhads from Dakshindari, Canal East Road and Kalighat in the city as well as from places in the districts, like Duttapukur in North 24-Parganas, Salkia, Uluberia and Ankurhati in Howrah and units in Hooghly and West Midnapore . But the recent downpour made the clay muddy and also prevented the clay pots from drying out before they could be heated and made into bhnars, resulting in a severe shortage of supplies. The shortage has peaked in the last week and we have a very small amount of clay left. To make matters worse, we don’t have enough sun to dry the cups. Each 100-cup set takes about a day and a half to dry before you can heat it up and finish it. But these days we don’t get clear skies even for such a short time, said Bachchan Prajapati (60), a maker of Dakshindari. The shortfall has pushed up the price of the lowly mugs, which now sell for Re 1-Rs 1.50 apiece in the retail market, from the previous 30p to 50p. In the wholesale market, 100 cups cost between Rs 30 and Rs 50, depending on the size. But due to the shortfall, we buy at a higher rate from the manufacturer, which causes prices to skyrocket, said Nand Lal, a supplier. To offset the high cost, tea vendors have started rationing the kulhads, charging the price for cups, which are otherwise free, or serving in paper or plastic cups. People here hate paper cups and want their tea in bhnar. But we mainly serve in paper cups due to the shortage, said Baleshwar Shaw, a popular tea vendor on Dacres Lane in Esplanade.

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