Rlys shell out Rs 25 lakh to get rid of rats

Ahmedabad Railway Division has awarded Central Warehouse Corporation and a private agency one-year contracts to rid the trains and yard of the menace


By Yogesh Avasthi
Posted On Wednesday, December 30, 2009 (http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20City§id=3&contentid=200912302009123002564390548537850)

After several failed attempts to eliminate the rats that scurry along railway platforms, trains, and in the yards, the Ahmedabad Railway Division is now doling out Rs 25 lakh to pest control companies to get rid of the menace forever.

Central Warehouse Corporation (CWC) has been given a Rs 5-lakh contract for the railway station yard while a separate Rs 20-lakh contract has been given to a private agency to curb rat menace in the trains. The infestation is so large that the division decided to rope in firms that are better equipped to solve the problem.

The CWC was itself plagued by the problem as it has grain godowns. That is how it set up a pest control unit to tackle the menace. The unit, equipped with latest technologies, also takes up contracts for other firms. To control rodents, a new-generation rodenticide, Bromodiolone anticoagulant, would be used, besides zinc phosphide and glue pads, a synthetic material capable of incapacitating rodents, sources said.

Senior officials of the railway division say the harbourages will be destroyed and bromide-coated granules placed in the infested areas. The impact will not be immediate as rats multiply very fast. But it will work very effectively.

The CWC unit will first identify the burrows in the yard and measure its size. The first three months will be utilised to carry out a survey on the number of burrows and their size. Alternatively, rat traps and poison tablets will also be fed to the rodents.

“The railways alone cannot be blamed for this menace. Passengers often dispose of the food remnants in the bogie. This attracts rats and cockroaches,” an official said.