RAILWAYS TO GO VEGETARIAN ON GANDHI JAYANTI

MUMBAI: If you’re travelling on an outstation train on October 2, be prepared to veg out. On the occasion of Mahatama Gandhi’s birth anniversary, Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) will be introducing a special vegetarian menu on the trains and no nonvegetarian options will be available on the day, officials said.

“The instructions have been given to IRCTC operating in all zonal railways to serve vegetarian meals on the trains. The vegetarian meals will be served on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti,” said IRCTC spokesperson Siddharth Singh. Passengers starting the journey on October 1 will be able to select from either vegetarian or non-vegetarian food, but if the journey spills over to the next day, they will only get vegetarian food items. From October 3, non-veg food will be back on the menu, they added.

In January, the railway board had put forward the idea of serving vegetarian meals on October 2 and the decision to implement this plan was taken last week. The special menu for Gandhi Jayanti will have stuffed parathas, kulchas, paneer dishes and varieties of desserts.

Central (CR) and western railways (WR) will also launch digital museums and undertake cleanliness drives to mark the anniversary. Titled ‘Swachhata Pakwada’, the cleanliness drive will start on September 15 and end on October 2 and will focus the cleanliness of railway premises, with special emphasis on toilets at stations.

Digital museums will be set up at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), Thane and Lonavala railway stations, and they will showcase the freedom struggle led by Mahatma Gandhi as well as the history of Indian railways.