Passengers have been left in the lurch, with over a dozen IRCTC-run eateries that provided food at economical rates in prominent railway stations across Kerala closing down during the past month.
A few others are on the verge of closure. A total of 12 canteens and one each at Nagercoil and Kanyakumari have downed shutters, it is learnt.
The eateries at Ernakulam Junction, Ernakulam Town, and Kollam were told to close down since these stations would be pulled down in a phased manner, to make way for new buildings as part of the redevelopment of these railway stations.
“Most other canteens closed down due to the IRCTC’s ‘impractical’ catering policy. The prices of some food items were hiked and the licence fee of the eateries increased steeply. The result has been that most catering firms are not keen to invest in these eateries, having lost faith in the IRCTC. In this circumstance, the Railway ought to take over these eateries from IRCTC, since the Onam and Sabarimala seasons are round the corner and there would be a steep increase in number of passengers, including from special trains during the two seasons,” said a person who had to close down one such eatery.
It is over a week since a vegetarian and a non-vegetarian eatery were closed down at Ernakulam Junction, which is used daily by about 40,000 passengers, citing that the part of the station has to be pulled down for its redevelopment. The IRCTC is not willing to relocate the eateries to the structure that once housed a food plaza, sources said.
Senior Railway officials said they had taken up the possibility of relocating the eateries to the vacant food plaza in Ernakulam, with IRCTC, considering that hundreds of passengers depended on these eateries every day. “Similarly, the IRCTC must take a call on relocating its eateries to semi-permanent stalls in the premises of railway stations, whose main buildings would be rebuilt. We would pursue this matter yet again with IRCTC,” they said.
They added that new eateries have been permitted in Aluva, Chengannur, Kollam, and Thiruvananthapuram stations, even as existing ones in Kanyakumari, Nagercoil, Thiruvananthapuram, Kottayam, Ernakulam Junction, Ernakulam Town, Thrissur, Palakkad, Shornur, Kozhikode, Kannur and Mangalore downed shutters. One eatery in each of the stations and two each in Ernakulam and Kottayam are now closed.
