The Ministry of Indian Railways has initiated action against the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) and a vendor of a Vande Bharat Express after a video of a passenger finding live worms in his food went viral. The video shows the passenger confronting onboard staff, who initially tried to dismiss it as “kesar” (saffron).
What did the Ministry of Railways say?
The ministry stated that fines were imposed on both IRCTC and the vendor who supplied the food. “The complaint regarding food quality raised by a passenger in train number 21896 (Patna – Tatanagar Vande Bharat Express) on 15 March 2026 has been taken seriously.”
It added, “Action taken – IRCTC has been penalised Rs.10 lakh, the service provider has been penalised with Rs.50 lakh, and ordered to terminate the contract. Passenger safety and quality remain our top priority.”
The video, which went viral and prompted the ministry to act, shows a man telling a train attendant that there are live worms in his food. An X user shared the video with the caption: “Kalesh in Vande Bharat train over worms in served food. Attendant said ‘Kesar hai.. kesar’ for the insect leg found in the Dahi.”
The video was initially shared on the YouTube channel Travel Skippers. According to the channel’s bio, it is managed by Ritesh Kumar Singh from Patna, who creates travel and lifestyle-related content.
What does the video show?
The passenger handed a cup of curd to the attendant and asked, “Can you see something in there?” The staff member denied seeing anything unusual and suggested the visible specks were merely “kesar” (saffron). This claim triggered disbelief and laughter from the complainant and others present.
The passenger then held up his food tray, showing that the insects had also spilled onto the rest of his meal. He questioned what would happen if someone consumed such contaminated food, highlighting the potential health risk.
Social media reacts:
One user wrote, “But why do passengers always have to raise their voice? Can’t your team surprisingly check food samples from any random train? Kindly share previous data publicly that so and so trains, food samples have been collected, etc.”
Another added, “These kinds of stale and low-quality meals happen on a daily basis in many trains. The fine money should partly go to affected passengers as a refund or compensation.”
A third said, “Such immediate action is appreciated ! These special trains like Vande Bharat etc are a National Pride, hence there must be 0 tolerance in letter & spirit when it comes to providing the high standards of service.”
A fourth commented, ” Rs.60 lakh for a cup of wormy curd. The Railways finally stopped playing around with passenger health.”