Thane: The Central Railway has temporarily sealed a multi-purpose stall in the waiting room area at Thane railway station and imposed penalty on its contractor after complaints of unhygienic conditions, officials said on Thursday.The action follows repeated complaints from commuters about poor hygiene at the stall near Platform 2. A recent inspection by members of the Divisional Railway Users’ Consultative Committee (DRUCC) found the complaints to be valid and recommended action against the operator.“We received complaints, conducted an inspection and, after verifying the allegations, sealed the stall and penalised the contractor,” a railway official said. “The outlet has been shut for seven days, and a penalty of ₹15,000 has been imposed for violating hygiene and cleanliness norms.”In a statement, the Central Railway reiterated its zero-tolerance policy towards unhygienic conditions at catering and commercial establishments operating on railway premises.“Regular inspections are being carried out across stations to ensure strict compliance with food safety and cleanliness standards,” an official said, urging passengers to report issues related to cleanliness, catering services or passenger amenities through the RailMadad portal.The action comes days after Thane MP Naresh Mhaske took up the issue following a complaint from a woman passenger who alleged that she had been sold a soft drink well past its printed expiry date at the same stall.Acting on the complaint, DRUCC member Sanjeev Kulkarni and Shiv Sena functionary Prakash Payre inspected the outlet and confirmed the alleged violations. Based on their findings, Mhaske wrote to the Divisional Railway Manager seeking stringent action against the canteen operator.
