Unfit for humans

A CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General) report has found the food served by the Railways in trains and at railway stations unsuitable for human consumption. Passengers are forced to buy contaminated and recycled foodstuff at prices higher than those in the open market and often no bills are issued. Packaged and bottled items past their shelf life are available for sale as also unauthorised brands of water bottles, indicating poor monitoring. CAG and railway teams have come out with these findings after conducting a joint inspection at 74 railway stations and on 80 trains. Besides, the report has found lack of cleanliness at the catering units at stations and on trains. For frequent travellers this may not be a surprise. 

Given the volume of passenger traffic and a continuous resource crunch due to public service commitments, the Railways is faced with huge challenges. Over the years there has been a qualitative improvement in certain areas, particularly after Suresh Prabhu took over as the Railway Minister. He has decentralised powers and ensured transparency and accountability in the award and execution of railway projects. A blueprint for providing globally-benchmarked services has been prepared. The Railways is raising a lot of money, attracting massive investments, undertaking projects with private participation and making efforts to reduce the cost of transportation to keep the mass transporter competitive as well as affordable. The Prime Minister is sold on big plans for the Railways, particularly the introduction of bullet trains. But there is a gap between the talk and the vision at the top and the reality and ugliness at the ground level. 

For high-end travellers what matters the most are safety, hygiene, quality food and punctuality. For ordinary Indians affordability is a key factor. Aware of its public responsibility the Railways subsidises fares through freight income. It is not difficult to reconcile varying and even conflicting interests. It does not cost much to enforce certain minimum standards of discipline, cleanliness and quality of eatables. If the Railways has compromised on certain basic services, it only means the staff at the lower end have not shed their sarkari mindset.