Rajdhani Express passengers stage protest over 'stale' food

Commuters travelling in Sealdah-bound Rajdhani Express staged a demonstration at Asansol railway station on Tuesday morning after they were allegedly served stale food.

Senior officials of the Eastern Railways have ordered a probe into the incident. It has been alleged that more than 15 passengers fell ill after consuming the food served to them in the train.

A senior railway official assured that the matter would be investigated and if the food served to the passengers were found to be below standard, action would be taken against the contractor of the food supply agency.

The passengers of B8 and B9 coaches who staged a protest at Asansol station said that they took up the protest after the authorities ignored their complaints. They alleged that the food that was served to them on Monday night was rotten. The passengers also lodged a complaint with the government railway police at Asansol against the agency assigned to provide food in the train.

Passengers alleged that some of the senior railway officials at the Asansol tried to ignore the issue. After the train reached Asansol station at around 7.30 am on Tuesday, some of the passengers from the two coaches got down from the train and staged a demonstration in front of the office of a senior railways official protesting against the poor quality of food.

They alleged that the food that was served was stale. Many of the passengers fell ill and started vomiting. After the train arrived at the Sealdah station, the passengers lodged a complaint with the senior railway officials too. They also staged a protest in front of the station manager's room.

"It was a harrowing experience travelling in the Rajdhani Express. One cannot believe that in a premium train like Rajdhani Express, passengers could be served stale food. I have travelled in the Rajdhani Express several times and found that the quality of food has deteriorated now," alleged Mousumi Chatterjee who was travelling in the train. She also said that when they complained about the stale food to the pantry boys, they said that they cannot do anything about it. The matter was taken up with the coach attendant who too could not provide any assurance to the passengers.

"The railway authorities have increased fares but have not improved services. Instead, services have deteriorated," alleged another passenger

who was travelling to Kolkata from Delhi.