Rat woes: Locals on lookout for the Pied Piper of Steel City

JAMSHEDPUR: It’s a rat race in many parts of Jamshedpur — and so far, the rodents are winning it hands down. Not only residents, even traders are on the list of sufferers.

Shambu Sahu, who lives in Sonari area of the city, lamented that rats have made burrows and damaged the foundation of his house of late. Sahu, who is a third generation resident of the house, said lately cracks had developed in some parts of his house. On consulting building construction experts he was informed that rodents had damaged the ageing foundation of his house built in 1967.

Now, the estimated repair costs were too high for him to afford, said Sahu, who works in a private company. Arun Das, who is from the same area, complained that the army of rats over the years has multiplied and ios an economic burden as they damage costly gadgets of the house by nibbling at the wires.

Recently, rats had damaged his car interiors. Getting them fixed to a great extent dented his monthly budget, said Arun, adding that rats last month had damaged a two-wheeler owned by his friend in Kadma.

Sheetal Sharma, who runs a consultancy firm in Bistupur, said engaging pest control people was expensive but she had to call them in after rats damaged two computers and files in her office.

Deepak Kumar, lecturer of zoology of a private university and an environmental scientist, said, “Rats seek out places to live that provide them with everything they need to survive: food, water, shelter and safe ways for them to get around. Garbage and clutter give rats a place to feed and hide.”

Ritesh Agarwal, who runs a pest control firm, said in recent years, the number of food vendors all over the city has shot up. They dump their leftovers in the nearby area, which is ample fodder for rats.

He said rats can be a problem for a single property, entire block or the whole neighbourhood, so they require a coordinated response. Property owners need to work together to curb the rat menace.

He pointed to the food vending zones in Sakchi, Bistupur, Sonari, Kadma and other areas of the city, where food leftovers are collected in the morning, more than 12 hours after they are dumped.

Shop owners in Sakchi said rats cause a lot of damage to property. Clothing trader Ramesh said the rodents have many times damaged expensive sarees and dress materials.