Special train for Ramlala Darshan
IRCTC Kolkata is thrilled to announce the first run of the Bharat Gaurav Special Tourist Train for the fiscal year 2024-25, “Uttar Bharat with Ramlala Darshan ex-New Jalpaiguri”.
The Railways has roped in self-help groups (SHGs) for providing local cuisine in running trains through station-based e-catering service.
The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC), the catering arm of railways, has empanelled nine SHGs to provide authentic regional food cooked in hygienic conditions at 10 stations including Adra, Secunderabad, Vijayawada, Mysore, Ernakulam and Vishahapatnam.
Passengers of all trains originating or stopping at these stations can avail of the facility of SHG cooked food through e-catering. Currently, 11 lakh meals are served daily in trains across the country out of which private caterers provide the majority of meals.
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The Railways had launched the station-based e-catering facility last year to widen the scope of catering options for train travellers. The local cuisine scheme was started to encourage self-help groups to participate in the public transporter's catering system and also to provide multiple options for passengers, a senior Railway Ministry official said.
To begin with, nine SHGs have come forward to provide popular local cuisine at 10 stations and it is expected that more SHGs would join the scheme, he said. Railways has announced a new catering policy with the aim of providing quality food at rail premises and reducing the number of complaints against the existing catering system. Railways receives about 25 complaints against food quality in a day which are being addressed, the official said.
The new catering policy envisages separation of cooking from distribution of food on trains and encourages e-catering system. Involvement of SHGs in e-catering provides scope for employment generation and proliferation of the scheme is expected in the days to come.
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