New Delhi: The vexatious issue of washing blankets after use by passengers in Indian Railways surfaced again in the Parliament with Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informing the Lok Sabha that the blankets are washed every month at least once. He was responding to a question by Congress Member of Parliament Kuldeep Indora on how frequently are train blankets washed by the Indian Railways and the sort of hygiene standards maintained by them.
The railway minister had furnished a written response to the Congress MP’s queries. He said that the blankets given to passengers are both lightweight and washable, which offers insulation to the users.
Enhanced BIS specifications for Indian Railway blankets
In his reply, the railways minister highlighted a few steps for passenger comfort and safety. Vaishnaw said linen sets had improved BIS specifications. Apart from that cleaning agents were used and improved laundering processes were deployed. He also said that the service life of linens has been cut down from earlier parameters so that these are replaced faster. Vaishnaw mentioned that the railways are implementing environmentally conscious and better logistics for storage, transport, and handling of linen items.
“War rooms have been established at zonal headquarters and divisional levels to monitor/prompt action on complaints lodged on RailMadad portal, including complaints on linen/bedroll,” he said.
Do they wash blankets in a train: RTI in Oct
The issue roiled the netizens in the fourth week of October when a RTI response to a newspaper revealed that blankets given to passengers on long-distance trains were washed once in a 30 -day period. They are washed more frequently if they stink, railway attendants told the newspaper’s correspondents. On the issue of whether the railways charges for bedsheets, pillow covers abd blankets, the RTI replied, “It’s all part of the train fare package. Further, in trains like Garib Rath and Duronto, the bedroll (pillow, bed sheets, etc.) can be obtained by paying an additional amount for each kit after opting for the option of bedroll while booking the tickets.” Rishu Gupta, section officer of Environment and Housekeeping Management (EnHM) of the Ministry of Railways, signed the RTI query.
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