New Delhi: The IRCTC has been fined Rs one lakh after a cockroach was found in food served in Kolkata Rajdhani, as Railways crack the whip slapping heavy fines totalling Rs 11.50 lakh on nine caterers including its subsidiary for serving ‘bad quality’ food in trains.
“Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) was fined Rs one lakh as a cockroach was found in the food in Kolkata Rajdhani on July 23,” a Railway official said, adding, “bad food was found in 13 trains”.
Besides Kolkata Rajdhani, other trains covered during the special drive include Paschim Express, Pushpak Express, Motihari Express, Shiv Ganga Express, Golden Temple Mail, Netravati Express, Punjab Mail, Howrah-Amritsar Mail and Chandigarh Shatabdi.
While in some trains food was found to be kept in unhygienic conditions, in others it was either found to be stale or sub-standard, the official said, adding, fines ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs one lakh have been imposed.
meanwhile, in a new development, six trains, including three premier trains Rajdhani, Duronto, Shatabdi, have been selected for introduction of pre-cooked food by ITC, MTR and Haldiram.
Items like ‘Chicken Chettinad’, ‘Hyderabadi Biryani’, ‘Sambar Rice’ and ‘Rajma Chawal’ are among the dishes to be offered on these trains. (PTI)