E-Paper
Appearance of rodents rings alarm in Mizoram
Appearance of rodents in several agricultural fields across the state has alerted the farmers reminding them of 1959's tragic famine, which ravaged Mizoram.
Appearance of rodents in several agricultural fields across the state has alerted the farmers reminding them of 1959's tragic famine, which ravaged Mizoram.
The fear of rat multiplication has gripped the farmers from across the districts of Kolasib, Lunglei, Serrichip and Aizawl, after they reported sightings of massive rodents proliferation in their paddy fields. The villages include Chawngtlai, Diado, Tlangpuite, Tlangpuilian, Ratu, Darzo and Kanghmun.
"It is true, there is an alarming increase in the population of rats. These rats have devoured not only paddy but also maize and other crops in the region", Plant Protection Officer of the state's Agriculture department James Lalsiamliana said.
The increase in rodent population was mainly due to unhealthy paddy cultivation and the late arrival of monsoon rains, he added. He also pointed out that so far total of 14 rodent (murid) species were identified on the basis of specimens or photographs.
An additional 20 species are likely to be present in Mizoram on the basis of their known regional distributions.
"Every year a part of our harvests is consumed by these rats, but it was not much. This year we have witnessed a numerical increase in the population of rodents, several paddy fields have been devoured by these rats, Lalbiakmawia, a farmer from Chawngtlai village, three kilometres from Khawzawl town said.
According to another farmer in the same village the bamboo has started flowering and these rodents are feeding on it, the reproduction of rodents will increase with the rich nutrients composition of the bamboo seeds, he added.
The assistant plant protection officer, however, pointed out that bamboo ('Melocanna baccifera') has started flowering across the state since July 2002.
He also underlined the need to empower the farming community through mobilisation of media and publicity on timely rodent management.
"We would be covering as many as 200 villages to control the rodent population immediately, where the respective farmers would be given rat traps and rodenticides free of cost, Mr Jalsiamliana said adding ready-to-use bait evaluation using acute rodenticides, zinc phosphide to tackle rodents at higher intensities and inaccessible areas will also be conducted.
Farmers in several parts of the state feared that rodent multiplication might occur before the state government could take precautionary measures.
Apart from the rodents, the farmers across the state have already reported swarming of locusts, 'thangnang' (a bug believed to be harbinger of bamboo flowering famine), and other insects, which people in the state interpreted as a bad omen, harbinger of a devastating famine.
Apart from the rats, swarming of locusts, bugs, and leaf folder insects were already witnessed by the farmers across the state and experts opined that these were the signs of an impending natural disaster.
According to the records during the last bamboo flowering season, first, it was the massive rodent population boom, which ravaged the paddy cultivation across the state that eventually led to the worst ever famine in the history of Mizoram.
