Several people offered suggestions for enforcing stricter norms for such passengers.
There have been numerous instances of passengers complaining about the railway services and food. However, this time around, a railway official took to social media to express his disapproval of the misuse of railway property by a certain passenger. Mr Ananth Rupanagudi took to the microblogging platform and replied to a picture of a man sleeping with his feet kept on the snack train in the Vande Bharat Express train.
A user, who goes by the handle Namma Kovai, took to X (formerly Twitter) and posted a picture of a user sleeping with his bare feet kept on the tray which is usually meant for serving refreshments on the train and questioned the lack of basic travel etiquette. "Chennai Vande Bharat. Such actions are not only disrespectful but also set a negative example for wider community. Placing one's feet on surfaces designated for dining is unsanitary and exhibits a lack of basic etiquette," he wrote alongside the image. The image seems to be a screenshot taken from the link to a YouTube video shared by the user.
The railway official took note of the same and expressed his disapproval. Mr Rupanagudi said that people should travel responsibly and they should use the services for the purpose they are meant for. "Please use the fittings for the purpose they are meant for. They have been created for you with your money and hence you have a responsibility towards those fittings. And these trains are built at a considerable cost. Please travel responsibly. #VandeBharat," he said on the microblogging platform.
Since being shared, the post has amassed 30,000 views and several comments.
"Manners in public and civic sense- may be another few decades away!" said a user.
"The day all citizens start thinking about our duty & responsibility, it will be a great day for atmanirbhar bharat," said a person.
A third person suggested, "Start penalizing with a fine of rs. 5000 and everyone will be careful."
"Very disrespectful to the nation's resources, indeed. Such people should be taken to task," commented a user.
However, this is not the first time such an incident has taken place. In November, Ananth Rupanagudi shared a picture of two kids sitting on a snack tray in the Vande Bharat Express train while their parents could be seen sitting in front of them. In a post, he wrote, "One of the main reasons for breaking of snack trays or defective snack trays in #VandeBharat and other trains! Even with photographic evidence, whiners would say that I pass on the blame only to passengers! #IndianRailways #Responsibility #passengers."