Army gets bamboo-ed in rat race

Guwahati: The Indian army is chasing down a new enemy in Manipur - rats.

There has been an explosion in the rodent population in Manipur and neighboring states and the swarming rodents are destroying crops and eating up tons of grain.

While there are no firm estimates yet of how much damage has been sustained by the rodent incursion, the situation has become so acute that soldiers posted to the area to guard against insurgents have been called in to battle the rats, said an army spokesman, Col S D Goswami.

The infestation is being blamed on the flowering of bamboo, which grows throughout the region. Bamboo in the region flowers once every 48 years, attracting rats, which feed on the flowers and seeds and multiply rapidly, posing a threat to local farmers.

In the 1950s, the last time the bamboo in the region bloomed, the damage to crops by rodents led to a famine in Manipur.

Along with helping hunt and trap rats, "the soldiers are also educating the villagers on pest and rodent control (and) purchasing bamboo affected by flowering to provide some income to the hapless farmers in the area," Goswami said.

The Army has also set up community farms to grow aromatic spice plants such as ginger and turmeric, which keep the rodents away, he said.