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New Delhi, May 16 - A catering contractor caught storing food packets in the toilet of a train has been sent packing, the central government told the Delhi High Court Wednesday.
The embarrassing case came up before the court in response to a public interest litigation filed by a lawyer, Varun Goswami. As evidence, he sent a compact disc with footage of food packets stored in the toilet of a commuter train.
The visuals had been shot by a television news channel, India TV, in February.
Attorney General Milon Banerjee, appearing for the railway ministry told the court that the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd (IRCTC), the department responsible for giving licenses to food contractors in the railways, has cancelled the license of the guilty contractor.
Banerjee said the IRCTC has also instructed all its contractors to maintain hygiene while cooking and supplying food, and has invited suggestions from ordinary people for improving the quality of food served on trains.
After Goswami's PIL, the bench appointed a committee to inspect railway kitchens in the capital and pantry cars. One committee member, lawyer Kirit Uppal, told the court that food and hygiene standards in pantry cars were bad in about 235 express trains and urged immediate steps by the IRCTC to improve matters.
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