Too many selfie requests increases IRCTC’s concern for female crew onboard Tejas Express

This undesirable trend has propelled the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) to take a few crucial steps to prevent the hostesses from facing any issue onboard. Reportedly, after such an incident, the IRCTC has made a WhatsApp group for the female attendants to seek help whenever they are facing such situations.
Tejas Express operates between Lucknow and Delhi. Although, the IRCTC has denied receiving any complaints from its female attendants so far, the Whatsapp group has been created to address such concerns in the near future. Besides, no advisory has been issued to the passengers as of now.


Senior female officials from the HR and administration department of IRCTC spoke to the train hostesses in a meeting to ensure everything is in order, and check if new rules should be put in place. Referring to this, Ashwini Srivastava, IRCTC Chief Regional Manager, Lucknow informed that there has not been any safety-related concern from any staff member so far.
During the meeting, reportedly, the crew members were specifically asked if they ever felt unsafe, if they faced harassment during any point or whether the passengers sought their permission before clicking selfies with them. The female crew members told the IRCTC senior officials that at times, passengers travelling on Tejas Express tend to get over excited with the idea of clicking selfies. So far, 45 hostesses have been hired for Tejas Express, of which 24 work onboard every time depending upon the number of coaches.