MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: Around 50 passengers on the Mumbai-bound Tejas Express were hospitalised in Chiplun on Sunday with symptoms of food poisoning, Konkan Railway officials said.
The superfast luxury train that departed from Goa had to be stopped at Chiplun in Ratnagiri district, about 350 km from Mumbai, after the passengers complained of nausea and vomiting.They were admitted to various hospital in the city.The officials said the hospitalised passengers were stable but under observation.
The passengers started feeling uneasy after having breakfast served by the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation. Breakfast was served to 220 persons in all. The IRCTC said food samples had been collected for investigation. “Director Catering service is proceeding to Mumbai to follow up the matter,” an IRCTC tweet said.
Earlier this month, former railway minister Dinesh Trivedi had complained about filth in juice served to him in a Shatabdi train.In a written reply in the Lok Sabha in July this year, Minister of State for Railways Rajen Gohain had said that 27,782 complaints on catering services were received between January 2014 and June 30, 2017.
A report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in July had mentioned poor quality food served to passengers in trains and at railway stations and highlighted unfair practices. The report said food articles unsuitable for human consumption, contaminated and recycled foodstuff as well as packaged and bottled items past their shelf life were being sold in railway stations.