27 March,2019 08:20 PM IST | | Rajendra B. Aklekar
Pic/ Rajendra B. Aklekar
The Central Railway on Tuesday directed all stall owners to clear the roof of all stalls of "men and material" at all stations across all divisions of Central Railway. The strict action follows after a video of the vendor was found preparing lime water in an unhygienic manner.
However, despite action by Central Railway on the controversial contractor Chantlual and Sons by sealing up the particular stall, other stalls by the same contractor are fully functional at Kurla and other stations. The contractor's staff was found preparing lemon water in an unhygienic manner.
In the video, the vendor is seen preparing the juice with bare hands and impure water stored in the water tanks on the rooftop of the canteen. The railways are replacing the roof of the platform and hence the activities of the vendor were visible.
A CR spokesperson said there are three other stalls of this licensee at Kurla. Other stalls have not been closed yet because of enquiry underway.
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He added that there has been no arrest yet. "Two samples have been sent to a lab accredited by National Accreditation Board for Laboratories (NABL) with a simultaneous enquiry is also underway and appropriate action will be taken after enquiry and sample report.
He said a special/intensified drive of commercial and health/medical department has also been launched.
"The roof of these stalls is most of the time found to be used for such actions, hence we have decided to ban "men and material" from all such canteens," he said.
The Comptroller and Auditor General 2017 report said that the food articles being provided on the railways are unfit for human consumption. Some of it is contaminated or past its shelf life. The fault apparently is in the compromises made on cleanliness and hygiene, a case that was found at Kurla yesterday.
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