Sattvik: IRCTC to provide certified veg meals on board trains to religious sites

New Delhi: In a move to promote the 'vegetarian-friendly travel' (VFT) in the train, IRCTC received a "sattvik certificate" on Monday from the Sattvik Council of India for the trains on routes to religious sites. Vande Bharat train from Delhi to Katra is the first to get such certificate.

As per the Sattvik Council of India chief Abhishek Biswas, the passengers, travelling to Katra from Delhi by Vande Bharat train from the next month, will also have to sign on the term and conditions over sattivk food form.

Further, the IRCTC base kitchens, executive lounges, budget hotels, food plazas, fast food units, travel tour packages and in fact the Rail Neer plants will be getting the "sattvik certificate".

The initiative has been launched as a pilot project to understand the requirements of vegetarian or vegan foods during a travelling to holy destinations, an official said.

"As the vegetarian food industry is the fastest growing in the global travel industry, it is essential to develop certified vegetarian food in restaurants and food souvenirs to attract travel in VTF destinations," a communique mentioned.

PL-CAM (Passenger Locomotive Continuous Audit Module), an application has also been developed by the Sattvik Council of India to monitor everyday activities taking place in VFT. This advancement will allow the hoteliers, restaurateurs, and others to demonstrate that they are sensitive to vegetarian requirements too. The next such train to get the "sattvik certificate" is the Ramayana Circuit Train. "We started with the trains of the north zone and soon will move to the west, especially in Gujarat and southern zone," Biswas told the Millennium Post.

Further, testing of the food and the standard checking process has to go through different processes and is quite costlier too. Therefore, the premium trains are the initial pick for the new scheme, an official added. However, the announcement has drawn flak from a section of users on social media, who questioned whether non-vegetarians would not be allowed to travel on the trains, and further questioned the logic behind the announcement.