Now, BMC to rope in agencies to tackle rat menace in suburbs

“We will float tenders for agencies involved in collecting garbage and pick one for each of the 24 wards. We will fix a rate for a minimum number of rats to be killed — the amount will serve as an incentive to kill more number of rats,” said Keskar.

Rajan Naringrekar of the BMC’s Insecticide Department stated that currently there are about 28 rat killers employed by the department.

The night rat killers are paid about Rs 5,000 a month for killing a minimum of 30 rats. The rat killers, until now, were operating in only nine wards of south and central Mumbai.

“It was tougher for night killers to operate in the city’s suburbs since there are a lot of open spaces and it is tougher to catch rats in open areas,” said Naringrekar.

Once finalised, these 24 agencies will undergo a week-long training.“They will be trained by our insecticide officer for three days and then given hands-on training by a night rat killer for four days,” said Keskar.

“They will be trained by our insecticide officer for three days and then given hands-on training by a night rat killer for four days,” said Keskar.

One way to kill rats involves poisoning their burrows, but the more popular method is to blind the rodent with a flashlight and then stab it with a metal-tipped pole. In an effort to extend the initiative, the BMC is also inviting volunteers from general

In an effort to extend the initiative, the BMC is also inviting volunteers from general public.

“If people wish to volunteer to kill rodents in their neighbourhood, we are happy to provide them with training,” said Keskar.

Apart from damaging footpaths, buildings and other properties by burrowing, eating through telephone lines, rats also pose a serious health hazard as they are one of the carriers of the leptospirosis bacteria.

The BMC’s insecticide department killed 2.79 lakh rats in 2014 and 3.31 lakh the year before.