Indian Railways will discontinue providing blankets in their air-conditioned (AC) coaches after an inspection from the Comptroller Accounts General (CAG) criticised it on cleanliness and hygiene, according to a Business Standard report.
As an alternative, the railways will maintain the temperature at 24-degree celsius, up from the current 19-degree celsius.
An official told the Business Standard that it was a more economical option to remove the blankets, considering that it takes Rs 55 to clean the bedroll while passengers are charged Rs 22 for its use.
According to the guidelines stipulated by the railways, the bedrolls were to be washed every one to two months, which was not being followed.
The CAG noted that this was due to the outsourcing of washing the linen as the railways could not handle the existing load. Also, there was no quality control for the washing through departmental mechanised laundries.
“A robust system for procurement, washing and distribution of linen is necessary to provide clean, hygienic, well-ironed and good quality linen to all passengers travelling in AC classes of the Indian Railway,” the report said.
“Necessary clearances for operating 26 of 30 mechanised laundries were not obtained from respective state pollution control boards. Effluent Treatment Plants were not installed in case of 15 of the 30 laundries,” the CAG report added.
Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu personalised disposable bedrolls for travellers last year but they are yet to be availed of in full swing.