RAILWAY SAMACHAR

Rlys serves dead rat with egg curry

Patna : Amid the tall claims by Railway Minister Lalu Prasad to make Patna Junction aworld class station, this is how things are shaping up in the Minister's hometurf. The railway canteen at Patna Junction, while putting its best 'food' forward, served a dead rat in egg curry and rice, to a passenger, Prabhakar Prasad. A resident of the Mahendru area in the state capital, Prasad had eaten half the dish when he noticed something hard in the gravy. As he lifted it, he got the shock of his life when he found a dead rat in the meal. Prasad immediately brought the matter to the attention of the railway canteen manager, who, in turn, called the waiter and gave him a tongue-lashing for the callous act.

The manager also pleaded with Prasad not to rake up the issue and, instead, offered him another meal free of cost. 'The colour and aroma of the egg curry did not give me any idea that the item would turn out to be so nauseating that for years I wouldn't order my favourite item (egg curry) in any restaurant,'said the aggrieved passenger, who also lodged a written complaint with the Railway Minister's grievances cell at Patna Junction.

A senior official of the East Central Railway (ECR) confirmed that a complaint (No 112) had been lodged in this regard, and the matter was being looked into. 'We will also talk to Prasad, and if the incident is found to be true, stern action will be taken against the guilty,' he told 'Railway Samachar' on Thursday.