Vidit Varshney, a user on X, shared a picture of a dead cockroach found in the food served to passengers on the Vande Bharat Express. He mentioned that the incident involved his uncle and aunt, who were traveling from Bhopal to Agra on June 18. Varshney urged the authorities to take “strict action” against the vendor. The Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Ltd (IRCTC) responded to his post, “apologizing” for the inconvenience and stating that a “suitable” penalty had been imposed on the service providers.
“Today, on 18-06-24, my uncle and aunt were traveling from Bhopal to Agra on Vande Bharat. They got a ‘cockroach’ in their food from IRCTC. Please take strict action against the vendor and make sure this does not happen again,” wrote Vidit Varshney on X, sharing a picture of the food with a dead cockroach in it.
RailwaySeva, the official support handle on X for train passengers, requested Varshney to share his “PNR number and mobile number” and expressed regret for the experience his aunt and uncle endured.
Two days later, the official IRCTC handle responded. They wrote, “Sir, we apologize for your travel experience. The matter has been viewed seriously, and a suitable penalty has been imposed on the concerned service provider. We have also intensified the production and logistics monitoring.”
“If people just see the condition of the canteen where food is prepared, most would never order. I prefer to bring home-cooked meals whenever possible,” expressed Nitish Kumar, another X user.
Another user added, “Whenever a person raises a complaint, the railway asks for details only and after that, no action is taken. Not only is the food quality poor, but there is also overcharging in the pantry. Authorities are well aware of this but do not act due to some ‘other reason’.”
“I don’t eat railway food. Take your homemade food with you,” said yet another user, Feroz Ahmad.
“Thoughts are with those who ate the rest of the food from this batch,” wrote a fourth user.
