Expired juice boxes, worms in curries: Why isn't Southern Railway still cancelling Vande Bharat food contract?

Thiruvananthapuram: Southern Railway has not cancelled the contract with its catering company, despite widespread complaints about the poor quality of food distributed in the Vande Bharat trains running in Kerala. When the authorities tried to initiate action against Brindavan Foods, the company secured a stay from the Chennai High Court. Meanwhile, the case is still under consideration by the High Court.

Poor quality food
The highest number of complaints was registered on the Thiruvananthapuram-Mangaluru Vande Bharat train. Earlier, passengers had complained that the contractors had supplied them with expired juice boxes on the train. Meanwhile, there have been recent reports of passengers finding worms in the dal curry served on the train. The divisions have been stating that the zonal office should take action against the contract company, a repeat offender, as the contract has been placed by the Southern Railway. 

Paying hefty fines
Meanwhile, the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation too refuses to intervene in the matter, saying that they didn’t give the contract. The railway authorities have been imposing hefty fines on the contract company for violating the food and hygiene rules. However, these companies pay the fine and continue to serve poor-quality food in trains to reap additional profits.