Indian Army Fights Rats

Indian troops in the six north-eastern states of the country are used to dealing with insurgencies which over the years have exacted a bloody toll. But now in parts of the north-east they are dealing with another adversary – an infestation of rats.

There has been a population explosion of the rodents in the state of Mizoram and in parts of Manipur. Hordes of rats have destroyed crops and eaten tonnes of grain, generating fears of food shortages and disease.

'The situation is serious in many parts of Mizoram and the Churachandpur district of Manipur,' said James Lalsiamliana, plant protection official of Mizoram's agriculture department. While the civil authorities in Mizoram are battling the rats themselves, in Churanchandpur the situation has become so serious that the army has been called in.

'Our presence in Churachandpur is substantial because the troops have been fighting the separatist insurgents there. Now that the rats are a bigger threat for the local communities, we are turning our efforts to fight them,' said military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Santanu Dev Goswami.

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