Title - Serving stale 'dal' costs Indian Railways dear

VADODARA: Serving a small portion of stale 'dal' to a passenger has caused the Indian Railways (IR) dear. Based on a complaint filed by a passenger of Shatabdi Express, the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has been directed to pay Rs 2.03 lakh as compensation by the Vadodara District Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum.N K Ojha had boarded the Shatabdi Express from Vadodara to reach Ahmedabad on May 13, 2010. After he ordered a meal of Jain food on board, he noticed that the meal that he was served had a portion of stale 'dal'.Ojha, university engineer at MSU, immediately filed a complaint regarding the spoiled meal to IRCTC. In its reply, IR's subsidiary accepted that it was mistake and assured that it would take appropriate action against the defaulting agency that handled pantry car of the train. But when Ojha requested that IRCTC should refund the food amount from the ticket amount that he had spent, IRCTC refused. He moved the consumer forum with a claim of Rs 90,000 as compensation from IRCTC for causing mental harassment and agony by registered a complaint against the deputy general manager of IRCTC, New Delhi.The district consumer forum of M T Unadkat and Neelam Bhavsar recently ordered that IRCTC should award Rs 1,000 as compensation to the complainant against the value of food and towards physical and mental harassment. Further, it has directed IRCTC to award Rs 2,000 as compensation towards the cost of litigation that the passenger had to incur in the process.

Observing that other passengers who were traveling through the same train would have also suffered harassment, the consumer forum has further directed IRCTC to deposit Rs 2 lakh as compensation in the Consumer Welfare Fund.

"The forum has observed that although other passengers of Shatabdi Express, who were travelling with me did not complain and are not identifiable conveniently, they too have faced harassment and hence directed that IRCTC should deposit the compensation in the welfare fund," Ojha said.