Jamshedpur: Bed bugs are keeping passengers company in the dormitories of Tatanagar, an A-1 category station under Chakradharpur division of South Eastern Railway.

An insider said at least two persons who had availed of the dorm facility on May 5 and a few others who stayed on May 9 had reported bug bites while they were sleeping.

"Verbal complaints about khatmal (bed bug) were lodged at Counters 9 and 10, where dorms are booked, on May 6 and May 10. The angry passengers wanted their money to be refunded," the source said.

Tatanagar has two dormitories - one AC hall with eight beds and another non-AC with 24 beds - that are maintained by the IRCTC.

A passenger can book a non-AC bed for 12 hours by paying Rs 125 while for 24 hours the price is Rs 200. For an AC dorm bed, the rates are Rs 200 for 12 hours and Rs 300 for 24 hours. Passengers need to show their railway tickets and ID proofs (voter card, Aadhaar card, etc) during booking.

Bed bugs are parasitic insects that feed exclusively on blood. Cimex lectularius, the common bed bug, prefers to feed on human blood. The bug's preferred habitat is warm houses, near or inside beds/bedding. While the insects are mainly active at night, they are not exclusively nocturnal. They usually feed on hosts without being noticed. A number of adverse health effects may results from bed bug bites, including skin rashes and allergies.

More than 90 trains pass through Tatanagar on the Howrah Mumbai route and on an average, 70 passengers use the dormitories daily.

Krishna Chandra Mohapatra (51), a resident of Berhampur in Odisha, said he had spotted the bugs near his pillow on Friday morning.

"I reached Tatanagar by Purushottam Express and booked a bed in the non-AC dorm during the seven-hour layover before my connecting train to Singrauli (Madhya Pradesh). I saw two of the bugs and decided not to sleep. I spent the time reading. It seems regular cleaning and spraying of insecticides are not done here," he said.

Senior divisional commercial manager of Chakradharpur Bhaskar, who is also the railway spokesperson, promised corrective measures. "As far as I know, cleaning is done but the frequency may need to be increased. I shall speak to the authorities at Tatanagar and ensure pest control measures are undertaken more regularly," he said.