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Live worms in Vande Bharat meal row: Indian Railways fines IRCTC ₹10 lakh, vendor ₹50 lakh
After a passenger found worms in curd on the Patna-Tatanagar Vande Bharat, Indian Railways imposed penalties on the vendor and IRCTC worth lakhs.
The Ministry of Indian Railways has initiated action against Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) and the 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 the onboard staff, who initially try to dismiss it as “kesar” (saffron).
What did the Ministry of Railways say?
The ministry shared that fines were imposed on both IRCTC and the vendor who provided 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.”
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It added, “Action taken — IRCTC has been penalised ₹10 lakh, the service provider has been penalised with ₹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 take action, 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. He makes travel and lifestyle-related videos.
What does the video show?
The passenger handed a cup of curd to the attendant, pointedly asking, “Can you see something in there?” The staff member denied seeing anything unusual and suggested the visible specks were merely "kesar" (saffron). This absurd claim sparked a wave of disbelief and laughter from the complainant and onlookers.
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The passenger immediately held up his food tray, revealing that the insects had also spilt onto the rest of his meal. He asked what would happen if someone were to consume such contaminated food, highlighting the health risk.
In response, the attendant noted that the curd arrived pre-packaged before checking the container's details. Upon inspection, it was discovered that the product was significantly out of date. The video ended with the passenger insisting that the attendant log the incident in the complaint book.
Social media reacts:
An individual 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 expressed, “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, “ ₹60 lakh for a cup of wormy curd. The Railways finally stopped playing around with passenger health.”
