Brief by Shorts91 Newsdesk / 03:23am on 20 Jan 2026,Tuesday India
India's inaugural Vande Bharat Sleeper express, flagged off by PM Modi between Howrah and Guwahati, was littered with plastic packets and spoons within hours of launch. Despite passengers paying premium fares Rs 2,300 versus Rs 1,500 on regular trains yet civic sense remained absent. Railway official Ananth Rupanagudi had pre-warned travelers about maintaining toilet manners and respecting public property. The viral video sparked outrage, highlighting Indians' ingrained mindset of treating railways as government property rather than shared public space. Unlike controlled behavior on planes and metros, train passengers consistently litter regardless of train quality or ticket prices. Railways emphasized that cleanliness is every citizen's responsibility, urging behavioral change to maintain world-class infrastructure. (PC: PTI)
