People of Peshawar are hoping to get rid of giant black rats roaming freely in the city, causing serious threat to public health and property, as Peshawar High Court (PHC) admitted a writ petition over the issue.
A two member bench of Peshawar High Court on March 10, 2016 admitted a writ petition filed against presence of a large number of rats in the provincial metropolis and sought comments from different officials including provincial health secretary, deputy commissioner and sanitation authorities.
A new breed of giant rats with a size measuring 22 to 30 cm are being witnessed in the provincial metropolis (Peshawar) for the last few years.
The rodents, which are rare due to their huge size, aggressive nature and growing population are not only causing damage to public property and edible goods, but are also posing serious threats to public health.
Rat bite, which was not known to the people of Peshawar before, has now become a common happening due to frequent reporting of such incidents. An infant recently died after being bitten by a rat in Hassan Gari area of Peshawar.
Azhar Elahi, a city dweller whose two-year-old nephew was bitten by a rat in the midnight, said the PHC should direct concerned departments to take effective measures for eradication of these rats which may cause an outbreak of plaque in the area.
We could not understand what caused bleeding from the boy’s ear when he started crying, Azhar recalls. However, when we took him to hospital, we were informed that he has been bitten by a rat.
Ayaz Muhammad, a railways employee, had to get treatment of 14 injections of rabies after being bitten in the ankle by a mouse.
A rat bitted me in a street in Sehti Town and it caused profuse bleeding. My father rushed me to hospital after which treatment started, Ayaz recalls.
He also welcomed the development and expressed the hope that after PHC’s decision to take up the issue, the authorities will take action and introduce measures for eradication of these rats which are causing great problem for the masses.
“Rat bite incidents are increasing and we are treating the patients through rabies vaccination,” informed Dr. Imran, who works at the emergency section of Lady Reading Hospital.
He informed that rabies vaccination is provided to the patients free of cost; however, in case of shortage of vaccine, the patients have to bring it from market.
Dr. Imran said if a person does not get vaccination after getting bitten by a rat, he may fell victim to rabies adding that people need to be educated on the issue.
He said majority of people are illiterate in our society and parents are not aware of the importance of vaccination after getting bitten by a rat, adding that people do not give much attention to the issue because of lack of awareness.
He also stressed the need for launching an awareness campaign for educating people on the importance of getting vaccination after being bitten by rat as non-treatment results in serious health problems.
Taking notice of presence of huge number of giant rats in Peshawar, Water and Sanitation Service Peshawar (WSSP) Operation General Manager, Engr Nasir Ghafoor, has appointed a “rat killer” in the organisation.
For the first time in the history of the country, a rat killer has been appointed in a civic body to provide relief to masses from the rodents, Nasir told APP.
Nasir said he witnessed a story in press that a person, perturbed over health problems being faced by one of his relatives due to rat bite, has launched a mission of killing rats and has killed more than 100,000 rodents.
“I contacted Naseer Ahmad, who killed rats, and offered him a job in WSSP for continuing his mission with official support,” Nasir added.
He said Naseer Ahmad was now carrying out operation with assistance of WSSP staff members in different areas of the cities to kill rats after receiving complaints from citizens
He also urged zoologists to carry research on the new and changed breed of giant rats which are harmful to human being and may cause serious health problems in the city.