Vande Bharat passenger finds cockroach in food, Railways reacts

The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has apologised to a couple who found a ‘cockroach’ in their food served during their journey from Bhopal to Agra on the Vande Bharat Express. It also added that a “suitable penalty” has been imposed on concerned service provider.

The IRCTC took to social media platform X and wrote, “Sir, we apologise for the travel experience you had. The matter has been viewed seriously and suitable penalty has been imposed on concerned service provider. We have also intensified the production and logistics monitoring."

The reply came two days after Vidit Varshney, an X user, posted a complaint wherein he alleged that his uncle and aunt were served a meal with a ‘cockroach’ on the Vande Bharat Express.

“On 18-06-24, my uncle and aunt were travelling from Bhopal to Agra in Vande Bharat. They got ‘COCKROACH’ in their food from @IRCTCofficial. Please take strict action against the vendor and make sure this would not happen again @RailMinIndia @ AshwiniVaishnaw @RailwaySeva,” Vidit's post. The post went viral with over 69,000 views.

The official account for support to passengers, Railway Seva has also responded to Vidit’s complaint. This concerning incident has again raised concerns regarding safety standards of food served in the railways.

In February, a man had flagged a similar complaint. The man was left “traumatised” after discovering a “dead cockroach” in his meal served during his journey on the Rewa Vande Bharat Express.

In January as well, a passenger travelling from New Delhi to Varanasi on the Vande Bharat Express alleged that he was served stale food during the journey.