Rats take rly staff on a ride
Unable to sleep due to rats scampering aboard Saurashtra Mail, a passenger lodges complaint with Mamata Bannerjee’s office. Call from Centre sends 5-member team scurrying to tackle rodents
Yogesh Avasthi
Posted On Saturday, October 09, 2010 (http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20Latest§id=2&contentid=2010100920101009023743515978405bc)
On Friday night, the Western Railway was playing Pied Piper to the rodents in Saurashtra Mail. It was a call from the Railway Ministry that forced them to take up the new role.
A five-member team of Ahmedabad Railway Division boarded Saurashtra Mail (Okha-Mumbai) upon its arrival at Kalupur railway station at 10.50 pm. Armed with torches and mousetraps, the members were on board to catch as many rodents before getting off at Mumbai.
Sources said, they have been asked by the ministry to inspect the coaches thoroughly and submit a report on the extent of torture the rodents were perpetrating on passegers.
What sent the officials scurrying onboard the AC coaches was a complaint lodged by a passenger with the office of Union Minister of Railways Mamata Banerjee. The minister’s office immediately called up officials at Western Railway and Ahmedabad Railway Division asking them to sort out the problem.
MINISTER, HELP US
Four passengers travelling in the first AC coach of the train were so hassled by the squeaks of these rats that they could not sleep. They had boarded the train from Rajkot on Friday evening.
Even before the train reached Surendranagar, an army of rodents had managed to scare the hell out of them. The troubled passengers, who are still on board, have been identified as Dr Suman, Mitesh Sinha and Mr and Mrs Bhattacharya, sources said.
“One of the passengers in the first AC coach, Mr Bhattacharya, immediately called up the minister’s office. We got a call from the ministry in no time and a team was pressed into action. At 10.50 pm, when train reached Ahmedabad station, the team boarded it. One rodent has been trapped so far,” a higher official said on condition of anonymity.
“Two days ago, rats chewed a passenger’s finger while he was asleep. All efforts to curb the rodent population have gone down the drain,” the official added. Last year, the Ahmedabad Railway Division awarded a pest control agency a contract of Rs 20 lakh to curb rat menace in the trains.
Yogesh Avasthi
Posted On Saturday, October 09, 2010 (http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20Latest§id=2&contentid=2010100920101009023743515978405bc)
On Friday night, the Western Railway was playing Pied Piper to the rodents in Saurashtra Mail. It was a call from the Railway Ministry that forced them to take up the new role.
A five-member team of Ahmedabad Railway Division boarded Saurashtra Mail (Okha-Mumbai) upon its arrival at Kalupur railway station at 10.50 pm. Armed with torches and mousetraps, the members were on board to catch as many rodents before getting off at Mumbai.
Sources said, they have been asked by the ministry to inspect the coaches thoroughly and submit a report on the extent of torture the rodents were perpetrating on passegers.
What sent the officials scurrying onboard the AC coaches was a complaint lodged by a passenger with the office of Union Minister of Railways Mamata Banerjee. The minister’s office immediately called up officials at Western Railway and Ahmedabad Railway Division asking them to sort out the problem.
MINISTER, HELP US
Four passengers travelling in the first AC coach of the train were so hassled by the squeaks of these rats that they could not sleep. They had boarded the train from Rajkot on Friday evening.
Even before the train reached Surendranagar, an army of rodents had managed to scare the hell out of them. The troubled passengers, who are still on board, have been identified as Dr Suman, Mitesh Sinha and Mr and Mrs Bhattacharya, sources said.
“One of the passengers in the first AC coach, Mr Bhattacharya, immediately called up the minister’s office. We got a call from the ministry in no time and a team was pressed into action. At 10.50 pm, when train reached Ahmedabad station, the team boarded it. One rodent has been trapped so far,” a higher official said on condition of anonymity.
“Two days ago, rats chewed a passenger’s finger while he was asleep. All efforts to curb the rodent population have gone down the drain,” the official added. Last year, the Ahmedabad Railway Division awarded a pest control agency a contract of Rs 20 lakh to curb rat menace in the trains.
