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Tezzbuzz Desk- If you travel by train and buy water, ice cream or other food items at the station or in the train during the journey, then this news is very important for you. Keeping in mind the health and food safety of passengers, Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has launched a major testing campaign across the country. During this period, Railway teams raided trains and stations and seized thousands of water bottles and other food items being sold without approval. Quick Response Teams (QRT) of IRCTC along with the commercial departments of Railways conducted surprise inspections at many places. The main objective of the campaign is to ensure that passengers get only those packed water and food items which are allowed to be sold by the Railways. During the investigation, many such products were found which were not allowed to be sold to passengers as per the prescribed rules.

The figures of action taken in Northern Railway zone are quite shocking. Between July 28 and August 8, IRCTC teams in collaboration with Lucknow Commercial Department inspected 117 trains. During this period, 5,241 water bottles were recovered which were not approved for sale. Subsequently, on August 10, a campaign was conducted under the Chandigarh Regional Office at several major stations including Ambala, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Katra and Jammu. During this campaign, 51 trains were checked and 3,108 unapproved water bottles were seized. Thus, a total of 8,349 unauthorized water bottles were recovered in these operations to Northern Railway. Railways says that such products can pose a risk to the health of passengers, hence strict action is necessary against them.

The action was not limited to just water bottles. During two surprise inspections conducted on August 10 in Ambala, 13 cartons of unapproved ice cream and flavored milk were also seized. During the investigation at Saharanpur railway station, non-standard ice cream, beverages and packed water were recovered. The officials seized these products and started further action. This campaign is continuing in other parts of the country also. Packed water and buttermilk being loaded illegally into trains was caught at Sabarmati station of Western Railway. In Howrah also, unauthorized food and beverages were recovered during surprise inspection. Apart from this, trains and catering units were also inspected at stations like Guwahati, Kamakhya, Agartala, New Jalpaiguri and Dibrugarh.

During the inspection, the officials not only checked the permission of food items, but also checked aspects like cleanliness, charging passengers more than the fixed price, necessary documents of the employees and pest control. The aim of the Railways is to provide safe and quality food to the passengers. IRCTC has directed all catering service providers and vendors not to sell any unapproved food or beverage. Strict punitive action will be taken against those violating the rules as per the license conditions. Such surprise checks are likely to continue at stations and trains across the country in the coming days.