NEW DELHI: Former Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi was in for a shock after he was served with a juice contaminated with filth on Shatabdi train enroute to Delhi.
Trivedi, a Trinamool Congress MP, was travelling on Kathgodam-New Delhi Shatabdi Saturday. He also complained about the matter to catering staff.
“I opened the lime water served in the Shatabdi train and there was filth inside. The problem is that there is no accountability and passengers are served this kind of food in premium trains,” Trivedi told Express.
Trivedi, who was removed as railway minister after proposing regulator for fare hike, said railways has introduced flexi fare but passengers are provided poor quality services. He further said that railways should focus on improving passenger services and safety be accorded top priorty.
Ministry of Railways took note of Trivedi’s complaint and assured him that stringent action will be taken against the caterer.
A report by Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in July this year had also found poor quality food served to passengers in trains and stations. It also highlighted unfair practices being followed in execution of catering services at stations and trains.
The report said that articles unsuitable for human consumption, contaminated and recycled foodstuff, shelf life expired packaged and bottled items were among the items that are being sold on railway stations in the country.
The audit report also observed that though a complaint redressal system has been put in place, “there is no reduction in the number of complaints over the years”. It stressed that the major share of complaints pertained to overcharging and quality issues.
The CAG’s report on ‘Catering Services in Indian Railways for the year ended March 2016’ said that frequent changes in catering policy have created a state of uncertainty in management of catering services provided to the passengers.