Illegal vendors rule the roost at rly station

Jaswant Shetra

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, December 22

Unauthorised vendors rule the roost at the railway station nowadays. A large number of unauthorised vendors canbe seen roaming in the trains on platforms selling eatables. As a result, authorised vendors at the railway station have been at the recieveing end.

On one hand, illegal vendors cause financial loss to authorised vendors, and on the other, they play havoc with health of passengers by selling unhygienic food items.

“The unauthorised vendors are linked to eateries located outside the railway station. These vendors board trains on the outer periphery of the railway station when trains get slow or halt while waiting for signal. They get off the trains as they approach platforms,” informed the sources.

“There are a large number of unauthorised vendors roaming in trains. They sell their eatables to passengers without any fear. Whenever we try to stop them, they fight with us. We have been suffering huge losses due to them,” rued Sanjeev Kumar, an authorised vendor at the railway station.

The authorised vendors said they have taken up the issue with the railway authorities but no concrete step has been taken so far.

Ludhiana railway station Director Abhinav Singla said the railway station authorities keep a regular check to prevent unauthorised vendors from selling eatables to passengers. “The vendors who are caught selling eatables without licence are penalised. We will further enhance our vigil on the station to keep a tab on such problems,” he said.