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Railway caterers fleece passengers, force them to pay thrice for food

Food caterers on outstation trains are selling meals and breakfast at almost thrice the rates prescribed in the official menu card, and such is the impunity that they are even issuing over-charged bills and receipts.

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Food caterers on outstation trains are selling meals and breakfast at almost thrice the rates prescribed in the official menu card, and such is the impunity that they are even issuing over-charged bills and receipts.

A consumer-rights NGO, inundated with complaints from passengers during the recent summer vacations, conducted a study on the Bandra-Amritsar Paschim Express and found that a meal, which should cost Rs35 was being sold for Rs85, a veg cutlet priced at Rs17 was being sold for Rs30, while an Rs30-dinner was being sold for Rs65. The caterers issued bills for them (see pic).

“We had been receiving complaints from passengers across the country and this train is just an example. On Mumbai-Pune Intercity, vegetable cutlets are sold for Rs25, and if one takes the volume into consideration, it is a bigger scam than the Commonwealth Games,” said Arun Saxena, president of the International Consumer Rights Protection Council (ICRPC), who has collected bills and details of meals served and sent it to the railway board.

The railways said that they are in the process of changing catering operations from the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd (IRCTC) to zonal railways, leading to such problems. The railway board has ordered a probe into the matter.

“This will not be possible unless railway officials are hand in gloves with caterers,” Saxena added. A passenger of the the Pune-Mumbai Indrayni Express said, “I paid Rs17 for an omelette bread. When the vendor asked me to pay Rs30, I showed them the menu card, which was pasted near the toilet in the compartment. But the vendor insisted that I should pay Rs30. I asked him to call the Travelling Ticket Examiner, who refused to come. A demand for a bill was also rejected.”

“Passengers traveling on trains are not necessarily aware that meal rates have to be given as per the prescribed menu as menu cards are not easily available. The menu card has to be widely publicized or issued with the ticket,” said Subhash Gupta, member of the National Railway Users’ Consultative Committee, who raised the issue at the CR meeting on Wednesday.

According to the new catering policy, the railways are in the process of shifting catering from IRCTC to zonal railways and are in a mode of transition. No official of the IRCTC was ready to respond to explain the situation and answer queries on complaints of over-charging. Text messages to IRCTC western head Viren Singh and IRCTC’s managing director Rakesh Tandon did not yield to any response.

Western Railway chief public relations manager Sharat Chandrayan said they had taken note of the complaint and would definitely look into it and soon launch a campaign. Central railway spokesperson Vidyadhar Malegaonkar said they are going to distribute menu cards in the train.

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