Needed: Plan to limit pest population

Times of India: Chennai: Wednesday, May 07, 2014.

Rats are breeding in the thousands in the city, but Corporation of Chennai doesn't have a team to eradicate the pests. In contrast, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has a separate wing consisting of 40 night rat killers and 120 other workers that kills more than 3 lakh rats each year.

In response to an RTI application, the corporation admitted it does not have a dedicated team to deal with the problem. It said employees responsible for anti-mosquito operations are also tasked with rodent control.

The corporation also said it does not make any allocation in its budget for rodent control. The funds required are taken from the allocation for the anti-mosquito operations. The civic body is also spending less on pest eradication than earlier, dropping from `1.87 lakh in 2012-13 to `87,000 in 2013-14.

In a gruesome reminder of the pestilential problem, rats bit the face of a dead baby, tearing away parts of a cheek and ear, at Kasturba Gandhi Women and Children Hospital in August 2012.

Experts say the corporation does not use any scientific method to limit the rat population. Shortage of staff in newer parts of the corporation has also contributed to a rise in rodent numbers.

The corporation said it set 33.06 lakh traps with poison and killed 21,060 rats since 2012.

"The city needs a team of trained rat killers to control its rodent population," a senior public health official said. "Rat killers, who bludgeon the animals, are more effective than traps and poison. Using poison could lead to pollution of drinking water sources."

Experts say a proper waste disposal system in the city will cut the rat numbers. "The mushrooming of roadside eateries and small restaurants is also responsible for the increase in the rat population," Exnora International joint general secretary R Govindaraj said. "The corporation should come up with an effective garbage disposal system for eateries."

He said most of government institutions have become breeding grounds for rodents. "The civic body should take intensive rodent control measures in slums," he said.