The Indian Railways’ internal inquiry report has concluded that the food quality served on-board Tejas Express was satisfactory — a day after 25 passengers were hospitalised due to food poisoning after consuming breakfast on the premium train, between Goa and Mumbai.
The inquiry conducted by a committee of the Central Railway has instead blamed the passengers for the incident. It said that the “suspected” food poisoning was triggered by two children who vomited inside the train coach floor that “vitiated the air quality and triggered uneasiness” among all other passengers.
“From the perusal of interaction with passengers, statements given by passengers, on duty TTEs, AC mechanic and pantry staff, it appears that the food quality served on Tejwas Express was satisfactory,” the report submitted by Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) assistant general manager Rajesh Rana said.
The Central Railway collected the food samples and observed “they all were well within their expiry (date).” It took sample of soup powder, poha, cake, bread sticks, kokum sarbat and mango punch served during the breakfast for quality control. However, the Railway authorities didn’t test the sample of the omelette that reportedly had a foul smell, as per its own inquiry report.
“A few passengers complained of slightly different smell from omelette served to them,” the report stated, concluding, “quality of omelette may be ensured while serving.” When asked why food sample of omelette was not sent for quality control testing, an IRCTC official, requesting anonymity, said, “There was no need to take the sample of omelette as many other passengers who consumed it had no issues with it.”
According to the inquiry report, two children belonging to a tourist group from Himachal Pradesh vomited inside the coach. The report said that this led to “uneasiness” among others who passed through their coach, followed by vomiting by four more children in the train. “The cause of uneasiness amongst other passengers appears to be repercussion of above as vomiting on coach floor vitiated the air quality and triggered uneasiness,” the inquiry report said.
The railway authorities interacted with 20 on-board passengers and “none of them complained about the quality of food or soup,” the inquiry report said.
It said that the statement from a tour group from Kolkata, which didn’t complain about food quality, was also recorded. “(The group) also reported that from the last 16 days they have been travelling to various places in Maharashtra and Goa and carrying their own cooks and food material,” the report stated. It added that six passengers from this group fell ill and were hospitalised.
On Sunday, 25 passengers were admitted in a hospital in Chiplun, Maharashtra due to suspected food poisoning after consuming breakfast served on-board Tejas Express, between Goa’s Karmali and Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus Terminal railway station. The Railway Ministry had issued a showcause notice for termination of contract to caterer JK Ghosh, which was responsible for providing food on-board Tejas Express.
