Title - Railways selling tea at 13-year-old rates

Ludhiana: Even as the price of sugar is Rs 35 per kg; milk Rs 30 per litre; tea pack Rs 200 per kg (minimum); and commercial gas cylinder refill Rs 1,300, the Railways continues to sell a cup of tea for a mere Rs 3. This rate is applicable not only to the pantry cart, but also vendors at railway stations.According to information, the price of tea was set in 1999, when 1 kg sugar cost Rs 7 and milk Rs 8 per litre. Now, the prices of the ingredients have gone up almost five times, but the Railways stills serves passengers tea on 13-year-old rates.“Vendors are overcharging at the railway station. The rate of tea is listed as Rs 3 on the rate list, but vendors have been taking Rs 5,” complain passengers.But vendors justify the overcharging. "We usually face the ire of passengers every day. They quarrel to get tea on the rate fixed by the Railways. But when they have it, they do not like its taste," said a vendor.Ram Sroop, secretary of the Ludhiana Railway Station Vendor Cooperative Society, said: “How can vendors provide a cup of tea for Rs 3 in this era of inflation. It is true that they overcharge. There is no buyer for tea made within Rs 3.”Ravinder Kumar Sharma, station supervisor, said: “The rate was set by the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) years ago. Only it has the authority to revise the rates. It is true that with the hike in prices of ingredients, tea cannot be made in Rs 3."