Pani puri stall inside Vashi railway station toilet leaves commuters fuming

Ever since the video was posted it has garnered over 5000 views and evoked strong response from commuters. “There is absolutely no monitoring on the number of illegal vendors operating from almost all of stations in the city,” said Advait Patil

Navi Mumbai A viral video of a pani puri stall kept inside the toilet of Vashi railway station will now be probed by both City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) and the railway authorities. The action comes in response to a video posted on Twitter. On Friday, a commuter had shot the video of a pani puri stall kept inside the railway toilet.

Navi Mumbai, India - Dec. 24, 2022:Panipuri stall within vashi railway toilet to be probed by cidco in Navi Mumbai, India, on Saturday, December 24, 2022. (Photo by / HT PHOTO) (HT PHOTO)

While posting the video, the commuter questioned the absolute lack of hygiene followed by the vendor thereby putting consumer life at risk.

“Such incidents happen because of the nexus between authorities, entrusted with the responsibility, and vendors, who are allowed inside the station premises. The vendors are aware that NMMC has no jurisdiction inside railway premises and the CIDCO appointed security guards remain mute spectators while vendors go about with their business,” said social activist and Nerul-resident Anarjit Chauhan.

The contractor of the toilet, however, maintained that there was no negligence, instead the stall owner was using the washroom when the video was shot. “The vendor was in the toilet and had just placed the stall for safekeeping when the video was shot. We do not permit any such activities in the toilet,” said Bhola Rai who manages the toilet.

Ever since the video was posted it has garnered over 5000 views and evoked strong response from commuters. “There is absolutely no monitoring on the number of illegal vendors operating from almost all of stations in the city. The concerned contractor should be held accountable for allowing the vendor to keep his stuff in the toilet,” said Advait Patil, 24, a resident of Sanpada.

CIDCO said it would conduct a thorough probe and take appropriate action against all concerned parties. “The video is indeed shocking. I have intimated the vigilance department. The department will be visiting the premises to ascertain the nature of negligence that has occurred. Even the contractor of the toilet will be questioned and appropriate action will be taken,” said CIDCO’s public relations officer, Priya Ratambe.

Taking serious note of the issue even the railway department has swung into action. Central Railway chief PRO Shivaji Sutar has asked the railway security department to file a report on the matter. “Further course of action will be determined based on the report filed by the security team,” he said.