Eating at railway-run outlets at stations will soon be a new experience. The new series of Janata Ahar eateries will present a bright and clean ambience along with an attractive price line menu.
Eleven such food plazas are in the pipeline and four of them will be opened during this month itself. Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee will launch the model outlet at Howrah in the next few days, and the ones in Chennai, Bangalore and Secunderabad will come up by month-end.
The other seven in Patna, Sealdah, Lucknow, Kharagpur, Gorakhpur, New Jalpaiguri and Mysore will become operational in December. Other stations will get the facility sequentially.
“You can enjoy your food at as cheap a price as Rs.10 in a bright, fresh, happy and clean ambience,” said Passenger Services Committee chairman Derek O’Brien.
With a seating capacity of at least 50, these outlets will serve the Janata meal of poori-bhaji at Rs.10. Bread pakora and plain dosa will also cost Rs. 10 each, and masala dosa Rs. 15. Aalu chop is priced as low as Rs.3.
The costliest combination is fish curry and rice at Rs. 35 and chicken curry, at Rs.30. A cup of tea (bag) is priced at Rs.4 and coffee, Rs. 5. The menus will be in the regional language, Hindi and English.
Green tables will go with yellow chairs. Waiters will sport yellow T-shirts, green trousers and a cap with a similar colour combination. The logo, too, is a design mix of these colours.
The new venture will be run by the railways and not be outsourced. The restaurants being run by various operators will be taken over as and when their contracts end, and the space utilised for setting up the Janata Ahar plazas.
