Food poisoning affects 6 on Rajdhani, passengers protest

Kolkata, March 28 (IANS) Six passengers fell ill after eating the food served on the New Delhi-Sealdah Rajdhani Express leading to protests by co-passengers at two stations on Tuesday.

Union minister and Asansol MP Babul Supriyo said he also found the food and service quality on Rajdhani "utterly disappointing" at times.

A section of the passengers protested at the Asansol and Sealdah terminus against the "poor quality of food and equally poor service" on the iconic train.

"The food quality in the train is poor and the timing of serving the food is equally bad. When the passengers spend such a substantial amount for travelling in a train, they expect a better quality and service but that is often not available here. At least six passengers from our train fell ill yesterday (Monday) after eating dinner," complained a female passenger.

The Eastern Railway authorities admitted they had received the complaint and said appropriate action would be taken after a probe. But they called it an "isolated" incident.

"This is a one off incident. The train was carrying around 1,200 passengers. Of them 5-6 passengers from a specific coach have complained about the food quality. We are investigating the matter. Appropriate action would be taken," an Eastern Railway spokesman said.

Supriyo assured that he would take up the matter with Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu and also run a check on the train's food quality himself if necessary.

"Today (Tuesday) I would attend a council of ministers' meeting at the Prime Minister's house where I would discuss the matter with Suresh Prabhu. I might as well come to Asansol any day to inspect the situation myself. Its true that the quality of the food in Rajdhani is very bad sometimes. I thank the passengers for their protest. Their agitation has made my case stronger," he added.