Stale biryani on train leads to protest, train delay

MUMBAI: You may always have had the sneaking suspicion that the food that you were getting on train wasn't up to the mark.
On Monday, a group of passengers on the Amritsar-Kochuveli Express held up the train at Panvel station after allegedly being served stale food.
The train was held up at Panvel station for an hour on Monday after passengers protested against the poor quality of food served by the train's pantry contractor.
"Commuters complained that the chicken biryani served in the train had a foul smell. They suspected that the food was stale and was not cooked or preserved properly," a Government Railway Police (GRP) official said.
When the train reached Panvel station, a group of commuters alighted to lodge an official complaint with the station manager. "A complaint book is kept with the station manager, but he was not available in his office when the passengers arrived. As a result, the train had to take an extended halt till the station manager came and a complaint could be registered," the GRP official said.
The train arrived around 12.50 pm at Panvel station and was held up for more than an hour. "The passenger who lodged a complaint on behalf of other travellers was one Trideep I L P. He was accompanied by seven to eight other passengers," the official said.
According to the timetable, the train arrives at Panvel station from Amritsar Junction at 12.25 pm and departs within five minutes at 12.30 pm.
A food inspector was called from Kalyan to collect a sample and of the dish served. He will forward the specimen to the food laboratory in Pune for detailed analysis on Tuesday. The GRP questioned Om Prakash Singh, pantry car manager of Dhoon caterers, who claimed that the food was stale as the refrigeration machine in the pantry stopped working.
V A Malegaonkar, chief public relations officer, Central Railway, said, "The train passes the Central Railway jurisdiction on its way to its destination in Kerala or Amritsar. The appointment and supervision of caterers and their supervision is done by the Northern Railway."