MCD to make Games pest-free

To avoid rats playing hide-and-seek with the tourists during the Commonwealth Games, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has purchased 100 kg of rodenticide and 600 rat traps to be used at the Games venues.

To avoid rats playing hide-and-seek with the tourists during the Commonwealth Games, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has purchased 100 kg of rodenticide and 600 rat traps to be used at the Games venues.

HT Image

All the venues, including the Games Village, Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Khel Gaon, Siri Fort Fort Complex and Talkatora stadium, will be made pest-free by mid September.

“The pesticide and rat traps will reach us by August 20 and from September we will start taking action,” said a senior MCD official.

“We have been told by the Organising Committee to sanitise all Games venues before the players start arriving,” the official added.

The players will start arriving in the city from September 24 onwards and will be staying at Khel Gaon flats. The civic agency has assigned about 90-odd veterinary workers to catch the rodents.

“The rodents captured by the squad will be released in the Ridge area,” said the official. Apart from the Games venues, the MCD drive will also cover several other areas in the city.

According to the civic agency, there are a number of rodents in the city, especially in East Delhi and South Delhi areas where most of the Commonwealth Games venues are located.

“To ensure they don’t nibble on the carpets or damage the underground wiring system and other infrastructure we have been asked to remove them,” said a senior MCD official.