Date:15/02/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/02/15/stories/2007021502210500.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

Hot cup of coffee in the Himalayas soon

Ravi Sharma

Coffee Board, UPASI to take up the issue of supplying coffee to Indian troops there

Bangalore: Indian troops posted on the Siachen Glacier and other far-flung areas in the high altitudes of the Himalayan ranges could soon awake to a fresh cup of coffee. The Coffee Board of India in tandem with the United Planters Association of South India (UPASI) is to lobby with the Ministry of Defence and Army Headquarters to make fresh coffee available to the troops.

But before that the beverage will have to be included in the ration scales for jawans. At present, while officers in the Army are entitled to a few grams of coffee and that to only in lieu of tea, the only beverage that is served to jawans in the langars is tea. Fresh roasted coffee, a non narcotic stimulant, is part of the rations given to troops of many Western countries, including France, Switzerland and Denmark, given its inherent health benefits such as increasing alertness, a crucial attribute especially for troops deployed at high altitudes where drowsiness sets in early. Coffee is also known to energise drinkers, provide relief from stress and reduce the risk of diabetes.

UPASI, which promotes the interests of coffee, tea, cardamom, pepper and spice growers, who are both proprietary and corporate planters, has written to the Coffee Board saying that they both (UPASI and the Coffee Board) seek the Ministry of Defence's clearance to promote coffee in the military market, and also that the Board should supply the commodity to the armed forces.

But according to Coffee Board chairman G.V. Krishna Rau, while promoting consumption of fresh coffee in the military market, especially among jawans, is a "good idea", and steps have been initiated to write to the Ministry of Defence highlighting the advantages of drinking coffee, supplying the commodity was out of the question. "The Coffee Board is no longer in coffee trade and has no plans to enter it. But we (through the Commerce Ministry) are writing to the Ministry of Defence on the inherent benefits of consuming cups of fresh coffee, and also looking at ways in which fresh coffee can be easily brewed," he said.

According to Anil Bhandari, coffee planter and member of the Coffee Board, "a strategy would be worked out during the next meeting of the Board (in March) on how best to go about the exercise."

Mr. Bhandari said: "The Commerce and Defence ministries have to agree. But before that, we will have to prepare the ground, draft out papers on why coffee is good for our troops."