THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A passenger who boarded the Kerala Express from Trivandrum Central railway station here on Wednesday was shocked to see fungus on the roof of their 2nd AC compartment.
“The entire compartment smelled like used socks. Soon I found the reason behind the smelly coach. The entire roof and even portions near upper berths were covered with fungus,” Rishika Namdev who was travelling along with her sister to Bhopal, told DC.
They took the second AC tickets spending Rs 6,671.60 (PNR numbers 4308651370 and 4209817377) to have a comfortable journey. On entering the compartment they were in for the rude shock. But the worst followed when Rishika developed skin allergy the next morning.
“The railway authorities charge so much for 2nd AC but care a damn when it comes to providing proper facility and ensuring cleanliness and infection free environment,” said Rishika.
When contacted, Railway Divisional Manager, Mr. Sunil Bajpai, said, “This is the first time that I’ve got such a complaint about fungus being present inside a railway compartment. The matter will be looked into as soon as I receive the PNR number of the ticket to identify the compartment and place where fungus is present.”
In a belated response, Senior Divisional Manager, Mr. Sudhevan sent the on board housekeeping staff to assess the condition of the compartment. The staff which came to the compartment for cleaning the compartment said being a pair train they could not get enough time to clean the coach.
