Monday, April 5, 2010

Chennai looks up to arrival of ‘pied pipers’


By G Saravanan
Published in The New Indian Express, on April 4, 2010:

After fighting a near-successful battle with mosquitoes, the civic body is now turning its focus towards another growing menace: the rodent population, which could open Pandora’s box during outbreak of any diseases.

Chennai Corporation Commissioner Rajesh Lakhoni said the pertinent tender would be floated in a fortnight, seeking bidders who could play the role of the ‘pied piper’.

“We are working out the modalities in involving private players for the massive programme, and are examining issues of payment for eliminating each rat,” he told Express. If the rode nts were controlled and eliminated, the civic body could reduce chances of several diseases including the leptospirosis and plague, Lakhoni noted.

Another senior official of the civic body said several MNCs involved in pest control across the country have expressed interest and approached the corporation for the programme.

The Tamil Nadu Pest Control Association said it would be almost impossible to estimate the city’s rodent population. “But we can certainly identify the highly infested areas,” said P Thanigai Arasu, its president.

“We have classified rat-infested areas based on complaints, especially from places like Koyambedu fruit and vegetable market, all railway stations and Ranganathan Street in T Nagar where we estimate high level of rodents’ infestation,” he added.

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