Ludhiana : Passengers travelling by the elite Shatabdi Express running between Amritsar and New Delhi continue to be on the...
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receiving end as the quality of food and snacks as well as the standard of catering service on board the train keep going down with each passing day. The harassed passengers are not only served sub-standard meals and given discourteous service, but also have to suffer the humiliation at the hands of an indifferent railway administration, which is turning a blind eye and deaf ear to ever increasing complaints.Some of the passengers travelling by the Shatabdi Express (12014) from Amritsar to New Delhi this morning in coach C-11 were in for a shock of their life when they found that the bread served to them in breakfast was fungus-infested.Avinash Garg (PNR No 2802952368), working with a Delhi-based software company told The Tribune that the bread slices served to him bore a visible layer of fungus. He called in the catering staff and told them to bring the wrapper of the bread to check its date of manufacturing. "To my utter shock, the bread had an expiry date of two days ago," an agitated Garg said.As Garg was arguing with the catering staff, the other passengers sitting nearby also closely inspected the bread slices served to them and found them to be fungus-infested. There was an uproar in the coach and irate passengers confronted the catering staff for putting their health in danger. "We demanded the complaint book, which was produced by the catering staff with much reluctance, and a formal complaint about the sub-standard and poor quality food being served to passengers was lodged which was signed by several passengers," Garg added.Unconfirmed reports received from some other passengers travelling by the same train alleged that a couple of passengers in an adjoining coach had fallen sick with complaints of nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea after having their breakfast.Indignant Garg and other co-passengers blasted the Northern Railway authorities for their inaction against the erring catering contractors even when complaints from the suffering passengers of Shatabdi trains were being lodged in writing almost every day. "We wonder whether it is the inefficiency on the part of the railway officials or else the officials supervising the catering arrangements on board the trains are in league with the contractors," they observed.When contacted, the railway officials tried to wriggle out with the stock reply that action will be taken as per the rules against the catering contractors.

Ludhiana : Passengers, who boarded the elite New Delhi-Amritsar Shatabdi Express from New Delhi today morning, passed through a harrowing...
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experience because food and snacks served by the unprofessional catering staff was unpalatable and complaints lodged by them were being ignored. It was literally after a direct confrontation with the supervisory staff of a catering contractor that the passengers were formally able to lodge their complaints.Passengers sitting in the executive class (E 2) were so upset with the catering staff and unpalatable food served to them that almost half of them lodged their complaints in a complaint book provided by the reluctant catering staff. Umesh Narang, a city-based industrialist, told The Tribune that food and snacks were of substandard quality. “Even boiled eggs served in breakfast were coated with dirt and had greasy smudges all over. The catering staff was discourteous, un-professional and shabbily dressed.A retired professor from Delhi, who was also among the complainants, said the poor quality of food and attitude of the catering staff on board the train and particularly in the executive class was shocking. “The Railways charge exorbitant amount for serving food and snacks to passengers, but such a thing is not acceptable at all,” she added.Narang said the passengers created an uproar and demanded the complaint book. The catering staff tried to pass on the visitors’ book (used for seeking comments of the passengers) to them. It was only when a few passengers confronted CM Pandey, supervisor of the catering contractor (Doon Caterers) that the complaint book was handed over to them. “Almost all passengers travelling in this particular coach were feeling short-changed by the Railways and nearly 30 of them signed the complaint book,” he added.This is not for the first time that complaint of poor catering on board the Shatabdi Express trains had surfaced. Earlier also, passengers have protested against poor quality of food, lack of cleanliness, dirty washrooms and cockroaches moving all over the chair car and executive class coaches.Catering on board trains were taken over by authorities of the Northern Railway from the Indian Rail Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) almost a year ago in the wake of frequent complaints. But, it seems, the have not improved since then.