VILLAGERS in India should not swap the brass “mutka” pots traditionally used to collect and store water for more modern alternatives. True to rumour, water stored in mutkas for a day or two really is safer to drink.
After hearing anecdotal reports that water stored in mutkas is safer, Rob Reed and Puja Tandon at Northumbria University in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, decided to investigate. When they added E. coli to water in various containers, the bacteria were all dead within 48 hours in mutkas, but survived in earthenware or plastic containers. Joint research with Sanjay Chhibber of Panjab…
