Rats rattle Railways!

Model railway station--Allahabad Junction--is facing an invasion that is threatening to shake its very foundations. Field rats in their thousands have made the Allahabad Junction Station their home and have emerged as a big headache not only for the railway officials but also for the passengers.

Model railway station--Allahabad Junction--is facing an invasion that is threatening to shake its very foundations.

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Field rats in their thousands have made the Allahabad Junction Station their home and have emerged as a big headache not only for the railway officials but also for the passengers.

The rats found almost on all the platforms of the Junction Station are causing great inconvenience to the passengers besides damaging the railway property.

The most dangerous aspect of these rats is that they have dug up tunnels under various platforms.

These holes have made the surface of the platform so uneven that there is a always a threat of its caving in at places, said the official sources on condition of anonymity.

Besides, the cavity has led to breaking up of the Track Apron of platform Number 7 and 8. Underground sewer lines have also been damaged. Not only this, parcel goods are also destroyed by these rats, added the sources.

Food materials kept in the catering units of the department is also not left untouched by the field rats.

Sources said that the officials of the Railways are now seriously thinking over the matter and planning to go for pest control measures to fight the menace.

When contacted the North Central Railway's Chief Public Relations Officer Bagish Pandey admitted the rat problem and informed that an outside agency would soon be engaged to tackle the menace. He also said that the problem has compounded because of the eatables left on the platforms by the passengers.