Tourists prepared food themselves; consumed high calorie food after eight-day fasting: SR

CHENNAI: Officials of Southern Railway (SR) have attributed the suspected food poisoning incident on board a Bharat Gaurav train which left from here on November 27 to likely consumption of high-calorie food prepared by the passengers after a prolonged fast.

An official spokesman of SR told DT Next that Southern Railway only provided rakes and the crew to the registered service provider who has the duty to provide meals to the passengers. A clarification issued by the SR later in the evening said that a total of 1,060 passengers had boarded Train no 06911 at Chennai Egmore on November 27.

The Bharat Gaurav tour was organized by Ms SRMPR, a BGT registered service provider, for Sri Chandraprabhu Jain Naya Mandir Trust. "Since the Jain community food is prepared in a customised way. Sri Vimal Shah, the joint secretary of the trust, had insisted that they would arrange their own catering team and take care of the food during the entire journey, " the spokesperson added.

Railway authorities here contacted Sri Kanthilal, a member of the tourist group on board the train, and another passenger Sri Manoj, who admitted that the passengers who fell sick were on an eight-day fast prior to commencement of the journey. Most of the passengers who fell sick were ladies and it was ascertained that they had consumed heavy food, instead of light food with a lot of fluids, while they broke the fast, which resulted in the problem, the SR spokesman added, claiming that adequate medical attention was given to the passengers at Pune by Railways.

According to the clarification issued SR, Train No.06911 Chennai Egmore – Palitana Bharat Gaurav Train departed from Chennai Egmore at 11pm on November 27 to Palitana. The train was scheduled to return to Egmore on December 4. On arrival at Pune Jn at 11.27pm on November 28, around 70 passengers of B-11 coach had reportedly complained of stomach pain, vomiting, and dehydration.

Action taken by Railways

Claiming that no passenger was hospitalized and Food Safety Officer and Health inspector of Pune station inspected the pantry car and collected food and water samples for scrutiny, the SR officer said that the group of passengers had requested the Registered Service Provider to permit them to make their own catering in accordance with their customary dietary preferences, which the service provider obliged.

Southern Railway, which has sought a detailed report from the Registered Service Provider, has announced that inquiries would be conducted into the incident and appropriate action would follow.