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Bhubaneswar, Nov 3: A sitting judge of the Orissa High Court Friday terminated his journey aboard Bhubaneswar-Mumbai Konark Express Friday complaining of poor hygiene in the air-conditioned coach he was booked in. Justice Biswanath Rath was travelling to Visakhapatnam but detrained at Berhampur and put down his complaint in the railway register there that there was a dead rat in the bogie.
A person accompanying the judge said: “We were travelling in A1 coach in berths 13 and 15. After Khurda Road station, Sir asked me to find out the source of foul smell. I found a dead rat and three live rats in the space between the glass window.”
Top railway officials told Orissa POST that the national carrier has taken serious note of the complaint. Theyreaffirmed the judge’s ac count and stated that a rat had gotten trapped in a trap placed under the berth in the AC coach and died. The foul smell was caused by the decaying carcass.
“The part of the coach where the rat was found has been sanitised using chemicals at Berhampur. It will also be further cleaned at Palasa and then Visakhapatnam,” sources said.
The train was scheduled for maintenance at Mumbai, where it has its Primary Maintenance Schedule. According to the sources, senior officials in Mumbai have also been duly informed about the entire incident. They added that appropriate action would be taken against those found responsible for the oversight.