The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Cooking on railway platforms to be stopped

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Thursday, Oct 30, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Cooking on railway platforms to be stopped

Anil Kumar Sastry

IRCTC will enforce the rule from November 1; food to be procured from base kitchen

It was difficult to monitor staff
of licensees
IRCTC Karnataka Region to have six base kitchens

BANGALORE: In its effort to ensure quality food on railway platforms, the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), the catering wing under the Indian Railways, will ensure no cooking takes place on the platforms and only packaged food and beverages, lifted from certified kitchens, are available to passengers at reasonable prices.

Although the deadline fixed by the Railway Board banning cooking on platforms expired long ago, with effect from November 1 the IRCTC intends to enforce it in the right earnest.

Apart from preventing sale of substandard food, the Railways and the IRCTC intend to subvert any fire-related accident on platforms by banning cooking.

IRCTC Chief Regional Manager, Bangalore, S. Gagarin told The Hindu on Wednesday that platform cooking was almost banned in Bangalore City Railway Station except for a few sellers. However, at Yeshwanthpur and Hubli, cooking on platforms had been stopped. All the licensees were procuring packed food items prepared either in the base kitchen at the City Station or kitchens/ hotels recognised by IRCTC.

Mr. Gagarin said the licensees employed helpers while preparing food items on platforms. When the Railways insisted that these helpers be issued identity cards to safety, licensees themselves issued identity cards to the helpers and it was difficult to maintain track of these helpers.

When the Railways and IRCTC insisted the cards be endorsed by competent authorities, the licensees refused. One could not allow entry and presence of each and everybody on the platforms, he said. Although the Railways had planned to open at least 45 base kitchens across the country a year ago, the issue was hanging in fire because of some technical differences. Now, the Additional Member (Catering) of the Board had given the go-ahead and all these kitchens would be in place by mid 2009, Mr. Gagarin said.

IRCTC Karnataka region would have six such kitchens – Bangalore City, Yeshwanthpur, Arsikere, Hubli, Belgaum and if needed at Davangere. Already, the vegetarian refreshment on Platform 1 at the City Station is working as a base kitchen and IRCTC planned to open two more on Platforms 5 and 6, Mr. Gagarin said.

The corporation was putting a number of machines to vend freshly brewed coffee, tea and other beverages.

He said one would not know the quality of inputs the licences put while preparing food and beverages on platforms.

Hence it was decided to keep a close watch on the preparation by way of insisting that the items should be procured from base kitchens. New licensees should lift the items from the base kitchen. Also, IRCTC had been able to check the price line of products sold in the railway premises to a large extent.

Mr. Gagarin said the personnel of Railway Protection Force (RPF) and the Government Railway Police (GRP) could help the Railway and IRCTC authorities in curbing the menace of unauthorised cooking and selling of food items in the Railway premises.

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