April 13, 2013
A recent a report by India's CNN-IBN has revealed the unsanitary conditions in which food is prepared aboard the country's trains. In one instance, water used for cleaning the train was also used for cooking.
April 13, 2013
A recent a report by India's CNN-IBN has revealed the unsanitary conditions in which food is prepared aboard the country's trains. In one instance, water used for cleaning the train was also used for cooking.
Food served on Indian trains is prepared in filthy conditions with little regard for hygiene or health, a news channel said Friday, citing a report by the state-run railways' officials.
India's CNN-IBN said it had obtained an internal report that said food was cooked in "dirty, smelly and waterlogged pantry cars" and in one instance, samosas, a popular snack, were kept in a basket with cleaning mops.
The report also said passenger trains are infested with cockroaches, according to the English-language channel.
"In the Shramjivi Express, the water used for washing coaches was also used for cooking and in the Bihar Sampark Kranti, samosas were found kept in a dirty basket along with mops," the channel said, quoting from the report.
The report was prepared after Indian Railways carried out a series of train inspections in February.
The Indian government had in February pledged better catering, comfort and cleanliness as part of a $11.7-billion budget for Asia's oldest rail network.
The junior railways minister, Adhir Ranjan, told the news channel "We accept that there is a problem. We are trying to rectify it."
India's accident-prone rail network is still the main form of long-distance travel in the huge country, despite fierce competition from private airlines.
Courtesy: AFP
