A vendor was caught on camera coming out of a train toilet with tea and coffee cans suggesting that he mixed filled the cans with tap water inside the toilet.
The video was recorded on the Hyderabad Charminar Express in December at Secunderabad station but gained traction on social media a few days ago.
The authorities have also imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on the vending contractor who had employed the erring hawker.
“An inquiry was conducted, and on the basis of it stringent action has been taken up against the Train Side Vending contractor for the section between Secunderabad and Kazipet, P Sivaprasad, with whom the identified vendor in the video was employed,” South Central Railway (SCR) Chief Public Relations Officer M Umashankar Kumar said in a release.
The incident has once again put the railways in the dock which has failed to maintain basic standards of food hygiene.
Apparently, the rail pantry has been home to rats, cockroaches, lizards and insects .
On July 26, 2017, passengers travelling in Poorva Express spotted a lizard in the biryani. On Aug 2, 2017, a passenger was served with a ‘bugged’ pakoda in Bihar Sampark Kranti Express. On October 15, 2017, 24 passengers Of Goa Mumbai Tejas Express had to be hospitalised due to food poisoning.
In its last year’s audit report, the Comptroller and Auditor General called the pantry food totally unfit for human consumption.
