KOCHI: Railway passengers appear to be not going to have any respite from the sub-standard tea and coffee unless they register their complaints with the pantry car in-charge or the Railway station master.At a time when social activist Anna Hazare and other countrymen are sweating it out to get a mechanism to weed out corruption, rail travellers are not executing their right to have food of good quality, Railway Passengers Association members said.The catering staff carry tea and coffee in cans which are not sealed and are easy to adulterate.“The contractor who undertakes the job of supplying food on board has the responsibility to ensure that quality food is served on trains. Unfortunately, they have stopped sealing the cans of late. It was done when the Railways was doing it several years back. But now it is difficult to be implemented,” Sundar, Divisional Commercial Manager, Thiruvananthapuram, said.Each train has been assigned to a separate contractor and is being monitored regularly to maintain quality, he said.When asked why the quality of food on trains was poor despite strict monitoring, he agreed that close supervision was difficult. But whenever any kind of malpractice is found the contractors are fined heavily, he said. The fine varies from Rs1,000 to Rs 5,000.Asked why the vendors were not selling Rs 3-tea in trains, he said it was for the contractors to ensure that both types of tea are sold as per the direction of the Railway Board.Sundar admitted that things have become difficult after the Railways had taken over the catering following IRCTC opting out.The Railways had removed IRCTC after frequent complaints about the quality. This forced the Railways to entrust the job with the Railway Department which in turn handed it over to the same contractors who had been doing the job under the IRCTC, Railways sources said.The contractors were selected on the basis of tenders and their contract is for a period of five years.The contractors are not sticking to the norms while selecting the vendors which include qualification and medical fitness. The basic requirement is a pass in the tenth standard while there are vendors who do not meet the criteria, the sources said.There are reports of vendors demanding excess charge than that rates fixed by the Railway Board. According to the Railways, mixed tea costs Rs 3, two cutlets Rs 9, special meals Rs 35 and breakfast Rs17.
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