New Delhi: Railway authorities keep there strict eyes to all food stalls running at station and have set a one-month deadline for owners to undertake deep cleaning or face heavy fines. The decision was taken during a meeting between railway authorities and food stall owners on July 28. Of the 367 food stalls in the Mumbai Division, 250 are in suburban section.
From 1st August, the deep cleaning contractor has begun cleaning the food stalls using Bosch pneumatic appliances that release water at a pressure of 120 bars. The contractor undertakes the deep cleaning at night and charges 500 per stall. Railway authorities in Surat have fined five food stalls 20,000 each for not maintaining cleanliness and hygiene standards. This is the highest one-time fine that the Railways have so far collected.
Aarti Singh Parihar, Senior Divisional Commercial Manager, Western Railway, said, “We are getting a good response from stall owners. Most of them have agreed to undertake deep cleaning. We started the drive to provide hygienic services to passengers.”
A man who owns multiple food stalls at suburban stations said, “We find insects, ants, cockroaches and rats on a regular basis at the stalls and keep getting complaints from passengers and warnings from the railway staff. We end up paying small fines, but if we do not undertake deep cleaning we will have to pay heavy fines.”
After a CAG report exposed the unhygienic conditions of railway stalls and the food served there, railway officials in all zones were asked to undertake a cleanliness drive.
The cleaning contractor has said his team found hundreds of insects and cockroaches at the food stalls. Deep cleaning will be carried out throughout the month. Rodent control will be begun on the completion of the cockroach treatment process. He said rodent traps would be set up at all stalls.
Dipankar Mandal, area sales manager of Ultima Search, a deep cleaning agency, said, “Stalls were emptied of eatables and they were stored separately. The stalls were then cleaned using pest spray.”
Western Railway officials plan to undertake deep cleaning of pantry cars next
