Congress has launched a major attack on the railways and the NDA government at the centre, accusing them of serving substandard food in trains. Congress has alleged that the NDA government has ruined the railways. The situation is such that neither the journey nor the food is safe in the railways. We are not saying this, this has been revealed through RTI. Through RTI, Congress has accused the railways that the complaints of substandard food in trains have increased by 500% in two years. Videos of railway food go viral every day, in which sometimes insects and sometimes cockroaches are seen.
Accusing the central government, Congress has said that this NDA government collects money from the public, but does not give anything in the name of facilities. The whole country knows this. The PM has no concern for the public, he is only concerned about his rich friends.
IRCTC has responded to the allegations levelled by Congress on the railways through social media. In which it has said that-
Sir,
Please note that this comparative analysis has been done during the time of the Covid pandemic when neither trains were running fully nor cooked food was being served in trains. Please also note the following clarification given by on this subject.
Responding to the RTI findings, IRCTC shared a clarification stating that “The web news is misleading, as the interpretation of the data is not logical and is also not in the right context. After the resumption of cooked food in 2021-22 (January-2022), an average of 14 quality/hygiene complaints were received per day, which is 0.0029% of about 5.00 lakh cooked meals served per day. IRCTC serves about 16.00 lakh cooked meals a day and an average of 20 quality/hygiene complaints are received per day.
2023-24, which is 0.0012% of the total meals served, In fact, there has been a decrease in quality/hygiene complaints on cooked food in 2023-24. Action against service providers is taken based on the severity of each case.
IRCTC further said-
IRCTC said that “Apart from the end of the third wave of COVID, service providers have also received 14 quality/hygiene complaints … the total meals served per day. The contract was suitably taken as per the terms and conditions of the contract. IRCTC follows a well laid down quality and hygiene check system wherein food samples are regularly tested in NABL accredited laboratories. The kitchens are monitored through CCTV etc.
Long term cluster tenders are being finalised with chain of modern base kitchens to be set up on all India basis to improve quality and reduce catering related complaints, the clarification said.