Mumbai: IRCTC fines train caterer for poor quality of food

Navi Mumbai resident Anuj Gupta had complained to IRCTC about the poor quality of food served on the train from Puri to Mumbai

An express train catering contractor was penalised R5,000 for the poor quality of food and curd missing in the vegetarian meal purchased by a family of four. The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) took action against the contractor on the complaint made by Anuj Kumar Gupta, 35, who had a distasteful experience while travelling on the train to Mumbai from Puri along with his family members. Gupta had alleged that the missing curd was being sold separately by the vendors for Rs 30 each.

Gupta, a resident of Kopar Khairane, was travelling with his father Deepak Gupta, 67, mother Rama Gupta and brother Aanesh Gupta. Speaking with mid-day Gupta said, "After completing our Char Dham Yatra we boarded train 12146 from Puri to Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) on September 27. We found the pantry car vendors selling a standard casserole vegetarian meal at R150 without the bill, whereas as per IRCTC website the rate is Rs 80. Irked by the inflated prices of the meals Gupta approached pantry car manager Santosh Rathod who sold the veg meals for R80 each. Gupta bought four meals.

Navi Mumbai resident Anuj Gupta is seen along with his parents at the Char Dham Yatra. Gupta had complained to IRCTC about the poor quality of food served

"The food was of the worst quality. While the IRCTC menu mentioned four chapatis in each meal, our Thali had only two chapatis. Instead of thick dal in the menu, we got watery dal and curd was missing. The vendor told us that they provided only two chapatis on this train and curd was out of stock. He told us as they do not receive supply of pulses the dal was watery. The vendor refused to divulge his name," Gupta said. He later found the vendors selling the missing curd as a single item for Rs 30 each.

When Gupta complained on the IRCTC website he did not seek compensation but demanded strict action against the contractor for poor quality of food and not providing curd. The contractor R K Associates & Hoteliers in their defense to the IRCTC claimed that the passenger may have learnt about the inflated price of food from an unauthorised vendor.

"The vegetarian meal was sold as per the MRP by the pantry car. The quality of the food was checked before the service and found to be satisfactory. All the passengers had consumed the same food and appreciated the quality. No complaints were made by other passengers about the food quality," stated the contractor in their defense.

Besides the penalty, the contractor has been warned to ensure the quality of food as per IRCTC standards is maintained. "I am very happy that IRCTC took prompt action and I hope that catering contractors on the train do not cheat the passengers," said Gupta.