Service To Cool Summer

Free buttermilk distribution by a private company at R.S. Puram in Coimbatore. From a distance, the thatched structure may appear to be a hurriedly put up outlet for a time-bound sale of some items. One is especially bound to get confused if one sights from a distance the name of a textile company on a banner.But, they are not selling anything. They are only serving.

A few youngsters employed by Jagannath Textile Company Limited are busy pouring chilled buttermilk into glasses for passersby to drink.

Cycles, motorcycles and even cars come to a halt on Shanmugham Road-East Periyasamy Road Junction at R.S. Puram in the city where the free buttermilk distribution has been going on for over two months to provide respite from the summer heat. From the lungi-clad man who pushes a cart to an executive in designer wear, almost everyone is compelled to have a taste of this summer special service.

“We made a start on a small scale last year with just 150 litres of butter milk. Now, we provide 5,000 litres every day,” says Managing Director of the company Ramesh Kumar Tibrewal. “On the first two days last year, we gave water. Someone then suggested buttermilk. We tried this out with 150 litres and it was over in just half-an-hour. We then knew that this service had to get into a large scale.” Mr. Tibrewal applies a simple business theory for this service: “When there is need for a commodity, the demand goes up. So we had decided to increase the quantity to meet the demand.”

The company increased the quantity a couple of weeks ago by 800 litres (from 4,200 litres) as there was demand for a distribution outlet at Saibaba Colony. And, there is mobile service also. A van halts at the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital for four hours in the morning to provide buttermilk to poor patients and relatives accompany them. Later, the van makes two trips a day to the town bus stand at Gandhipuram. The company has put 16 persons on the job of buttermilk distribution at the two outlets and in the mobile service.

“I saw people frantically hunting for bottled water at the bus stand. I realised that not all people can afford to buy it. So, we hit upon the idea of a mobile service at the bus stand,” says Mr. Tibrewal. In fact, the “more pandhal” had become so famous that railway authorities requested for it at the Coimbatore North Railway Station when students came to visit the science exhibition on wheels. It is not readymade buttermilk that is distributed. “Milk is bought from Aavin and private suppliers to make it. The buttermilk required for tomorrow is ready today.”

What made the company embark on this service? “It all began during our school days in Kolkata.We used to put up pandhals in front of our houses during summer vacation and provide water to passersby. As adults, we now earn money through our business and want to use it for such efforts,” Mr. Tibrewal says. He, however, refuses to state how much the company spends on the buttermilk and the fuel for the vehicles. “The spirit of the service is lost if I mention the amount of money being spent,” he says.

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