Railway vendor fined Rs 1 lakh for using toilet water in tea and coffee

A viral video dating back to December of last year has prompted authorities to impose a fine of Rs 1 lakh on a railway vendor for using toilet water on trains to make tea and coffee.

The video showed a man in a blue shirt inside the toilet of a train in Telangana filling tea cans with water. He then hands over the can to a vendor standing outside the door. The incident was filmed by a passenger on the Chennai Central-Hyderabad Charminar Express despite the vendor reportedly trying his best to act as a shield. The video soon went viral on social media with many expressing their absolute disgust and questioning railway authorities.

Despite promising clean food and hygienic conditions, the Indian Railways continues to find going tough. Railway Minister Piyush Goel last month had told vendors that while quantity may be compromised upon, a dip in quality of food and beverages would be dealt with sternly.

More recently, Zee Business reported that Indian Railways is looking to adopt the catering model which currently exists in the aviation sector. "Railways will be adopting the concept of mini-meals, which is available in airlines. Under the mini-meal concept, packed foods will be served to the passengers," sources had said.