By Syed Zarir Hussain
Aizawl, (IANS) The Mizoram government is offering cash rewards to villagers for killing some 400,000 rats as the large-scale destruction of paddy crops by swarms of rodents has triggered fears of a famine.
“We are motivating villagers to kill rats and bring the tail as evidence to local authorities. We are awarding two rupees per rat killed,” James Lalsianliana, plant protection officer and head of the state’s rodent control cell, told IANS.
The government has sanctioned Rs.800,000 for the anti-rodent drive that began Oct 5.
“The scheme will continue till Dec 15. We may further extend the period and also allot more funds if required. Already hundreds of people are queuing up in front of local agriculture offices with rat tails,” the official said.
A scheme offering cash rewards of Re. 1 per rat-tail was introduced in 2002 but was stopped three years later.
“We decided to resume the scheme of killing rats for a reward considering the fact that the menace has increased manifold in recent months,” Lalsianliana said.
Since 2004, the state government has spent about Rs.20.5 million towards controlling the rat menace.
“We have tried several measures like poisoning rats, inviting experts from abroad to control the problem, besides other steps,” the official said.
The Mizoram government has sounded an alert saying the state of under one million people was expecting a famine this year with the flowering of vast forests of bamboo triggering an invasion by armies of rats on granaries and paddy fields in the region.
There is a saying in this tiny hill state, bordering Myanmar and Bangladesh, that when the bamboo flowers, famine, death and destruction follow.
Behind the superstition lies some scientific truth as blooming bamboo can trigger an invasion of rats, which proceed to eat away food supplies.
“It is not a myth or any superstitious belief to think that bamboo flowering signals famine. It is a stark reality and we have experienced and witnessed the outbreak of famine in the past under similar circumstances,” Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga said.
According to estimates by the agriculture department, rats weighing between 80 to 100 grams have chomped off paddy crops in an area covering 77,038 hectares in about 200 villages between August and October.
“Some late maturing paddy is to be harvested in November. If the rat menace is not checked, the entire harvest runs the risk of being feasted on by the rodents,” the official said.
Bamboo, a giant tropical grass with hollow stems, does not normally flower. Agricultural scientists say the bamboo flowers increase the fertility of the rats. When this unusual phenomenon takes place, the rodent population goes up. The rats go berserk, feasting on everything that comes their way.
In 1958-59, a famine in the state of Mizoram resulted in the death of at least 100 people, besides heavy loss to human property and crops.
The famine, locally known as Mautam, broke out after the state witnessed the rare phenomenon of bamboo flowering and an increase in rodent population that started emptying granaries and destroying paddy fields.
“Bamboo grows wildly in at least 30 percent of Mizoram’s total geographical area of 21,000 square kilometres,” Lalsianliana said. Historical accounts say Mizoram recorded a famine in 1862 and again in 1911 after similar bamboo flowerings.
“The phenomenon of bamboo flowering occurs every 48 years. So 2007 is the year when we expect a famine. There are early warnings already about the impending catastrophe,” the chief minister said.