‘People do not prefer Ganga Jal if it is treated’
NEW DELHI: Right from
July 10, when the Centre launched the scheme to provide Ganga Jal through post offices, the response has been overwhelming. Post offices have so far distributed 1,920 bottles of 200 ml each and 9,950 500 bottles of this water sourced at Gangotri. Similarly, over 8,000 bottles containing 500 ml of the water and 4,060 bottles of 200 ml sourced from Rishikesh have already been taken. “Within 20 days, the programme has been a huge success...we want to touch the lives of the people,” SK Sinha, secretary, department of post, told in an interview. Excerpts:
HT
The Ganga Jal seems to be in much demand. What volume of revenue are you looking at?
The idea is not to make money. The initiative is to create goodwill and connect with people. I think that has worked. We are not looking at any figures. It is a no-profit-no-loss model. We only have packaging and handling charges. In the case of online purchases, we have the speed-post charges. Otherwise, the water comes free.
How do you assure the quality of the water, considering there is so much pollution?
We collect the water from two places. What we first do is to allow the sediment to settle. In the process, the mud and other impurities go to the bottom; we just take the water. This is the only process, as customers are looking for Ganga Jal and they do not prefer it treated.
Do people prefer to buy it online? No, our experience is that people prefer to buy this holy water from post offices. The demand is to pick up the bottles from shelves. There is not much sale online, though we do sell it through our e-post offices.
How do you assure people that the water is actually Ganga Jal? There is a lot of trust that the postal department enjoys. There has been no complaint so far.
Where do you see the maximum demand?
There is a lot of demand from Rajasthan. It will require an additional 10,000 litres to suffice. The other states from where we have a lot of demand include Orissa, West Bengal, and Jharkhand.