Thane: Thane Shiv Sena MP Naresh Mhaske has written to the Central Railway Divisional Railway Manager (DRM), seeking strict action against a railway canteen at Thane station over alleged unhygienic conditions and risks to passenger health.The development comes close on the heels of complaints received from commuters including a lady passenger who shared a video last week where she was served a cold drink way beyond its consumption date by a station canteen staff.Accordingly, an inspection of the canteen was carried out by Divisional Railway Users’ Consultative Committee member Sanjeev Kulkarni and Thane Sena functionary Prakash Payre following instructions from Mhaske who confirmed the complaints to be true. Further, neither the contractor nor the manager were present during the inspection, Mhaske said.“The canteen and kitchen were violating Food Safety and Standards Authority of India norms, with expired soft drinks, stale food items, burnt cooking oil, poor-quality food, inadequate ventilation and foul odour found on the premises,” he said through a press statement and has demanded penalties be slapped against the contractor. An action taken report has also been sought from the railway.
