A food safety lapse aboard the Guwahati-Okha Dwarka Express has sparked outrage after a passenger discovered a metal fragment in his dal, having already consumed nearly half of his meal.
A food safety lapse aboard the Guwahati-Okha Dwarka Express has sparked outrage after a passenger discovered a metal fragment in his dal, having already consumed nearly half of his meal. The disturbing incident came to light after the passenger shared videos on X, prompting the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) to penalise the catering contractor and remove the staff involved from duty.
The passenger, Amit Awasthi, who posted a video on X, showed the foreign object he had discovered in his food. Holding the metal fragment up to the camera, Awasthi pointed out that he had already eaten a portion of the meal before noticing it.
“Look at what I found in my dal. I have already eaten half the food,” he said.
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Expressing concern over the possibility of having accidentally swallowed a piece of metal, Awasthi revealed that the catering staff had suggested it might have come from a scrubber used to clean utensils.
“I am worried that I may have ingested this. They are saying it’s part of the scrub that is used for washing utensils,” he said, urging IRCTC to investigate the quality and hygiene of food served to railway passengers.
A second video shared by the passenger captured his interaction with the onboard catering staff. One employee apologised for the incident and suggested that the foreign object could have been a fragment of a utensil-cleaning scrubber.
“Sir vo bartan manjhne wala hai. Vo fass gaya hoga” (Sir, that is used for washing utensils. It must have got stuck in the food), the employee said.
The staff member also offered to replace the meal and provide a refund. However, Awasthi rejected both offers, making it clear that he wanted to lodge a formal complaint with the Railways rather than accept an immediate resolution.
Following the complaint and the circulation of the videos on X, IRCTC responded to Awasthi’s post, confirming that strict action had been initiated against those responsible.
“The matter was viewed with the utmost seriousness, and a substantial penalty has been imposed on the service provider concerned, along with a strict warning to ensure that such incidents do not recur. Furthermore, the staff involved in [the incident] has been derostered,” they said.
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While IRCTC confirmed the penalty and disciplinary action, it did not reveal the exact amount imposed on the catering contractor.