BFF-52 Indian Railways live streams from kitchens after food scares

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Indian Railways live streams from kitchens after food scares

NEW DELHI, July 5, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Indian Railways has started live
streaming from its kitchens so that millions of passengers can see how their
meals are prepared after scandals including one involving toilet water caused
uproar.

The state train provider is trying to convince commuters its food is safe
after the government’s own corruption watchdog labelled Indian Railways food
“unfit for human consumption”.

In May, public confidence took another blow when a rail caterer was filmed
making tea from toilet water.

Complaints about rats and cockroaches near onboard kitchens, and meals
plagued with insects, are also commonplace.

To clean up its image, Indian Railways launched Wednesday a streaming
service on its website allowing travellers to scrutinise hygiene levels in
their major kitchens.

“This step will further enhance transparency and public confidence in the
food preparation and packaging process across the Indian Railways network,”
its catering wing IRCTC said on Twitter.

Private caterers also supply packaged food to the network, one of the
world’s largest.

The private caterer behind the toilet tea saga was fined 100,000 rupees
($1,450) for the incident that outrage Indian commuters.

The Comptroller and Auditor General, a government watchdog, said in a 2017
report that meals served aboard Indian trains were “unsuitable for human
consumption”.

It said meals were often contaminated and included recycled or expired
food, and counterfeit brands of bottled water.

The report also accused railway providers of unhygienic conditions on
board train carriages.

Indian Railways runs nearly 13,000 trains every day, with some 24 million
travelling across the length and breadth of the British-era rail network.

BSS/AFP/BZC/1945HRS