No more cooking fresh food in pantry cars of long-distance trains, passengers unhappy with IRCTC

PUNE Really don’t be surprised the next time you are travelling by a very long-length train if the foods served does not experience clean due to the fact the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Company (IRCTC) has stopped cooking foods within the pantry coaches of these trains because very last week. The rationale cited by the IRCTC is cylinder blasts and consequent burning of coaches. Hereon, the IRCTC will prepare dinner meals in its cell kitchen on system number 1 of Pune railway station and assistance virtually 300 meals everyday to 15 trains. Aside from foods, other food items goods this kind of as breakfast, snacks, packed and preserved foodstuff items and drinking water bottles, way too, will be furnished from the IRCTC mobile kitchen.

A senior IRCTC official of the Pune division on affliction of anonymity explained, “The choice was taken by the IRCTC higher-level committee previous 7 days and as per the recommendations provided, we have now completely stopped cooking food in pantry cars. The fuel cylinders have been removed from the coaches and foods is being cooked spherical-the-clock as for each the timings of the trains via our mobile kitchen here at the Pune railway station.”

Earlier, passengers would get freshly-cooked foodstuff inside pantry cars on prolonged-distance trains but now the system has adjusted entirely. The cylinders have been taken out from pantry automobiles and food is being cooked from the base ‘cell kitchen’ on platform amount 1 of Pune railway station from where it is taken to the pantry autos. At the moment in the Pune division, all over 300 meal packets, the two veg and non-veg, are getting sent everyday to 16 extended-distance trains.

Questioned how foods will be served in Pune’s prestigious Deccan Queen convey prepare that has its own dining automobile, the formal stated, “Currently, all cooked breakfast things these kinds of as vegetable cutlets, bread omelet, tea and espresso are cooked listed here at the station and then despatched into the practice. While immediately after the new coaches appear on June 22 for the Deccan Queen teach, there will be an electrical induction system wherever at minimum breakfast things can be cooked.”

In the meantime, travellers are not happy with this final decision of the IRCTC. Harsha Shah, president of the Railway Pravasi Group, said, “The reason specified by the railways for removing the cylinders from the pantry autos is absolutely baseless. In my 60 decades of travelling by the railways across the nation, I have under no circumstances heard of any incident where by pantry cars and trucks have caught fireplace. Additionally, the food stuff which is cooked hours right before will not stay in excellent quality when it is served to passengers on prolonged-distance trains.”

A further passenger Shailesh Kshirsagar who frequently travels to Delhi for his do the job stated, “When I vacation in lengthy-length trains, it is envisioned to get effectively cooked food in the practice even though travelling. Now if we are obtaining meals which is cooked hrs in advance of we eat and our health and fitness deteriorates, who is to blame for it?”