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Journalism of Courage
Food hawkers at suburban railway stations in Pune division may face the risk of losing their stalls, as the Central Railway has issued a circular banning all cooking activities, regardless of the mode, on platforms.
According to official information, the decision to enforce the new guidelines aims to prevent fire accidents, similar to the one that occurred at the “Jan Aahar” canteen in Lokmanya Tilak Terminus railway station last December.
The circular states that cooking through electrical appliances is permissible on non-suburban stations only. According to the Central Railway, the circular is implemented around all suburban stations from Pune to Malavli railway stations.
The Pune Division has ordered all licensed food plazas, fast food units, Jan Ahaar canteens, refreshment rooms, tea stalls, milk stalls, and other miscellaneous stalls to shut down their cooking activities on platforms.
However, private food stalls and hotels on platforms say that if officials are imposing the rule, they should make alternate arrangements for them.
According to railway officials, the rules apply to hotels and restaurants that prepare meals come under the ISRTC jurisdiction. However, restaurants are exempted due to their separate kitchen units located significantly away from the platforms.
The manager of Food Express Services said that for now, it’s mere a guideline they received and the implementation is yet to be done.
“We received a circular regarding the ban on food stalls that are cooking food within the area of platforms, but we adhere to all safety precautions. We have our separate kitchen chamber where food is prepared,” said the firm outlet manager.
In the same statement, the owner of Siddhivinayak Food Services affirmed that their hotel premises have separate arrangements for food preparation, with the kitchen unit situated a considerable distance away from the platform.
Senior Divisional Commercial Manager Milind Hirve said that there are around ten stalls outside the circulating region of platforms, and rules apply solely to those food or tea stalls that fall under the circulating area of the platform.
Harsha Shah, president of the Railway Pravasi Manch, stated that there was no need to ban as it might inconvenience the passengers.
“This is an unnecessary step and doesn’t make sense. If there are safety-related issues, they need to be addressed, but banning cooking activities will only cause unnecessary inconvenience for railway passengers. How long will food vendors have to prepare food and travel long distances within the platforms,” asked Harsha.
Stations that come under the rule are Pune, Shivajinagar, Khadki, Dapodi, Kasarwadi, Pimpri, Chinchwad, Akurdi, Dehu Road, Begdewadi, Talegaon, Vadgaon, Kamshet, and Malavli.
