'Corpn. going ahead with rodent control drive'

By Saptarshi Bhattacharya

CHENNAI, AUG. 26. A proposal to set up a separate Rodent Control Unit awaits the Government nod, even as the Chennai Corporation is struggling to play Pied Piper more effectively.

The issue assumes significance in the light of the recent large- scale outbreak of leptospirosis in Mumbai which claimed many lives.

The proposal followed a budget announcement by the Mayor this year that the civic body would launch a major campaign against rats in specific areas of North Chennai. An allocation of Rs. 38 lakhs was also made and awareness campaigns chalked out. However, setting up of the unit required recruitment of staff and, hence, the proposal was sent to the Government, in June.

The project was planned after the civic body, along with Pest Control India and Bayer India, took up two drives in rat-infested pockets of Sowcarpet and the Marina beach. Based on the pilot study, the budget announcement was made. Apart from these, two more drives were undertaken at the Ripon Building and the Government General Hospital. Though the officials claimed that there was a 95 per cent reduction of live burrows after the drives were undertaken, it lost steam this year.

Though the drives had fetched some initial results, the rats have started multiplying again as the operation has been kept in abeyance. Some of the rodents `shifted base' when the baiting operation started showing results. Presence of warehouses and godowns in North Chennai was a major problem as they provided easy fodder for these rodents to thrive.

``The delay is not related to the recruitment of staff for rodent control,'' the officials clarified. Currently, the civic body was in the process of purchasing rodenticides following which the activities would be taken up in areas which had been identified as rodent-infested.

``The Chennai Corporation is seized of the matter. Even if the staff sanction is not got on time, we are going ahead with the drive. We are confident of achieving the target with the cooperation of the public,'' said Dr. J. Radhakrishnan, Commissioner.

A bulk of the amount earmarked for the project is likely to be spent towards the awareness campaign, Information Education Communication (IEC) programme, for rodent control in specific areas in North Chennai.

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