Caterer protest hits serving of food on duronto

KOLKATA: Serving of food and water to passengers of two Duronto Expresses from Howrah and Sealdah and an airconditioned train to Digha was delayed on Sunday after contractual staff under IRCTC launched an agitation over the appointment of licensees under the new catering policy.
There was uproar at Sealdah station in the evening as some catering staffers assaulted two managers supervising carrying of food into the Sealdah-New Delhi Duronto Express.The RPF nabbed 14 persons handed them over to the GRP .
“The casual staffers used to work directly under IRCTC till we selected licensees. When we deployed them to the licensees, some outsiders made them believe they would lose their jobs. Though we assured them that this wouldn't happen, they started the agitation at Howrah in the morning.Though service was delayed initially , we succeeded in getting replacements from other stations,“ said Debashis Chandra, group general manager (east), IRCTC.
In the evening, the catering staff, egged on by some political workers, went to Sealdah and created trouble on the New Delhi Duronto. Chandra and senior officers rushed to the spot to bring the situation under control.