Railway Passenger Gets Veg Biryani Topped With Dead Lizard

There’s hardly anything pleasant about the Railways catering service, but shit hit the fan when a passenger on board Purva Express was served Biryani topped with a dead lizard on Tuesday.

According to an NDTV report, the passengers travelling from Jharkhand to Uttar Pradesh were served veg biryani near Patna. As soon as the open the packet, they were up for a shock—a dead lizard—sprinkled on the top. One of the persons was immediately taken ill.

Furious passengers, when confronted the catering service, the unapologetic staffer chose to throw the meal out of the train. When a complaint to the ticket examiner and the pantry car attendant drew no apparent response, the passengers tweeted to Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu, says the report.

However, the ministry reacted promptly to the complaints on social media. Many senior officials turned up at the next major station-Mughalsarai and the ill passenger was given immediate assistance, the report added.

The Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) of Danapur division Kishor Kumar condemned the incident and assured a detailed enquiry in the matter. "It is a very unfortunate incident. A detailed enquiry would be conducted in the case and necessary action would be taken", Kumar said to ANI.

"A check-up was done in the Danapur Division and he was given medicine", he added.

Kumar further said that the department's main concern was the health of the passengers.

This incident comes just a week after the CAG rapped the Indian Railways authority and in its report stated that the food and beverages served during journey is ‘unsuitable for human consumption’.

The audit found food articles were either contaminated or being recycled with packaged and bottled items being sold way past their shelf life and bottles of water by unauthorized manufacturers on sale.

“Unpurified water straight from tap was used in preparation of beverages, waste bins were not found covered, not emptied regularly and not washed, food stuff were not covered to protect them from flies, insects and dust, rats and cockroaches were found in trains etc,” the audit report said.