Minister of State for Railways K.H. Muniyappa inaugurated the cell kitchen at the Hubli Railway Station on Saturday. It is the 20th such kitchen set up at railway stations across the country by Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited.
Mr. Muniyappa inspected the facilities available at the cell kitchen. Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister Jagadish Shettar, Pralhad Joshi, MP, and Mohan Limbikai and Srinivas Mane (both MLCs), General Manager of South Western Railway Kuldeep Chaturvedi, and Divisional Railway Manager of Hubli Adesh Sharma were among those present.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Muniyappa said the number of passengers travelling by train was increasing by the day and there were a lot of expectations from the Railways. The cell kitchens were aimed at providing quality food to railway passengers.
While a telephonic complaint cell (Phone: 1800-111-139) had been set up to receive complaints from passengers about the quality of food, passengers can post suggestions on the IRCTC's website.
The Minister said that the contract of the caterer would be withdrawn if complaints regarding quality of food were genuine and if there was serious lapse on the part of the caterer. Senior officials of South Western Railway were also present on the occasion.
According to a release issued by IRCTC, the objective of setting up cell kitchens was to reduce cooking on trains and to provide uniform and hygienic foods to the travelling public.
The cell kitchen at Hubli has been built at a cost of Rs. 45 lakh. It is equipped with state-of-the-art equipment and gadgets. Facilities such as steam cooking, cold storage room and dishwashing system have been made available. Both the vegetarian and non-vegetarian food items would be cooked at the kitchen. Built on an area of 2,951 sq. ft., the cell kitchen has a provision for dining facility also and is likely to generate revenue of up to Rs. 36 lakh every year.
