SECUNDERABAD: Days after a video of a vendor mixing water in tea or coffee cans inside a train toilet went viral and kicked up a storm on social media, the
South Central Railway (SCR) said the incident occurred on board Train 12759 Chennai
Central-Hyderabad Charminar Express at
Secunderabad station in December last year.
"Following an inquiry, stringent action has been taken against P Sivaprasad, the train side vending contractor for the section between Secunderabad and Kazipet. A penalty of 1 lakh has also been slapped on the licensee through the contracting agency, IRCTC," said
Uma Shankar Kumar, chief public relation officer of SCR in a release on Wednesday.
Sivaprasad reportedly employed the vendor seen in the video which was doing rounds on Facebook, Twitter and Whatsapp in the past few days.
Two other hawkers seen in the video were unauthorized hawkers, railway authorities claimed. "The commercial department of SCR has been carrying out extensive drives against unauthorized hawking at Secunderabad railway premises for the last few months. All hawkers, including the duo involved with the incident, have been removed," the spokesperson said.
Railway officials said they are carrying out checks at various levels to prevent of such incidents at any station under the zone. The railway staff has also been instructed to keep tabs on toilets to ensure unauthorised hawkers or non-travelling passengers do not misuse the water, meant for passengers.
The incident also highlighted how unauthorised vendors managed to enter the station despite security personnel posted there.
Caught on camera