Indian Railways Staff Fired After Viral Video Shows Him Dumping Garbage From Moving Train

The Indian Railways dismissed a senior IRCTC official after a video surfaced on social media showing him throwing garbage from a moving train. The incident reportedly took place on Feb. 27.

In the viral clip, the official is seen interacting with the person recording the video. Despite being called out for his actions, he continues to discard more garbage from the running train while being fully aware that he is being filmed. The 49-second video has since gone viral.

Reacting to one such post, RailwaySeva said that an action was taken against the staff belonging to the On Board Housekeeping Services (OHBS) section. RailwaySeva is the support arm of the Ministry of Railways, responsible for addressing passenger grievances.

It said that the incident took place on the special train 04115, where the staff, identified as Kanchan Lal, was stationed. He has been removed from his job, Indian Railways said, adding that a heavy penalty was imposed on the OBHS contractor.

"Indian Railways is working 24/7 for the service of the Nation..," the post read.

In a separate post, the ministry also confirmed that the staff had been dismissed. "This staff member was removed on Feb. 27, the same day on which he committed this act," it noted.

As the video went viral, many social media users demanded that the dismissed staff should post an apology. Some also pointed out the lack of waste management skills in the IRCTC staff, which could encourage passengers to act the same way.

Many users shared their own similar experiences while traveling on the Indian Railways. Some emphasised that waste disposal should be a critical concern for IRCTC, especially after the company recently received its 'navratna' status.

On Mar. 3, IRCTC, which is the catering and tourism subsidiary of railways, was granted 'navratna' status. With its net worth of Rs 3,229.97 crore for the financial year 2023-24 (FY24), the public sector undertaking was granted the status to reflect its performance and contribution to the economy.