Barely a week after a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report said that food served by the Indian Railways is unfit for human consumption, a dead lizard found in the food provided in the train. The incident happened on Wednesday when a passenger on-board Howrah-New Delhi Poorva Express allegedly found dead lizard in his vegetable biryani.
According to a report by NDTV, it was spotted by a group of pilgrims travelling from Jharkhand to Uttar Pradesh when the train was near Patna. When they informed it to the pantry staff, the food was thrown away. They later complained it to the ticket examiner and the pantry car attendant. However, they got no response from the officials after which the complaint was tweeted to Union Minister of Railways, Suresh Prabhu.
The passenger says he fell ill after consuming the food. He has also alleged that railway officials took four hours to give him medication. “The thing which I regret the most is that I was given medicines really late. I was not given any medication for about four hours,” he told ANI.
The Indian Railways has now removed the caterer of the Howrah-New Delhi Poorva Express after the complaint was tweeted to the rail minister. It has also issued a 48-hour notice and a detailed enquiry into the matter.
The incident sparked taunts and jibes from spokespersons from opposition parties and other users:
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