- Passenger's complaint over food quality on a Vande Bharat train led to action against the caterer.
- Railways imposed a Rs 2 lakh fine after an inquiry into the uncooked paratha complaint.
- The incident comes days after Railways revealed food-related fines worth Rs 5.13 crore.
The catering arm of Indian Railways has imposed a Rs 2 lakh penalty on a caterer after a passenger complained about the quality of food served onboard a Vande Bharat Express. According to reports, the incident took place on August 16 on the Banaras-New Delhi Vande Bharat Express.
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The passenger, who was travelling on Train No. 22435, was reportedly served an undercooked paratha that they found unsatisfactory. They later took to social media to raise the issue and tagged Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in their post.
The complaint did not end with the onboard response. Following an inquiry, the Railways imposed a Rs 2 lakh fine on the catering licensee concerned. In addition, a penalty of Rs 20,000 was levied on the agency responsible for food safety checks at the base kitchen for negligence.
The development comes just days after Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed the Rajya Sabha that Indian Railways had imposed fines worth Rs 5.13 crore over the past three years.
Responding to a question from Congress MP Chandrakant Handore regarding the "statutory action taken against IRCTC licensees found guilty of institutional overcharging and serving substandard food or less than the prescribed quantities", Vaishnaw said in a written reply, as per Press Trust of India, "Indian Railways serve about 58 crore meals every year on average. About only 0.0008% of complaints are received on average. Based on inquiry on these complaints during the last three years, a fine of Rs 5.13 crore has been imposed."
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The minister also outlined several steps taken to improve food quality, hygiene and safety across the railway network. These include sourcing meals from designated base kitchens, setting up modern base kitchens at identified locations, and installing CCTV cameras for real-time monitoring of food preparation processes.
