Rat complaints of train passengers meet the end

Disinfectants are sprayed under the coaches as part of rodent control. File | Photo Credit: Ratheesh Kumar C.

Rose and her husband Joseph took their annual trip to their home state, Kerala, earlier this year. Their favorite way was the languid train journey via the one and only Sabari Express. This time, they opted for first class instead of the usual 2AC or 3AC, but their joy was short lived as they had a rough time with the rats.

The rats not only damaged their two new bags but also the food they had stored in them. The booth was reportedly cleaned six times during the 24-hour journey to Secunderabad by maintenance crews who noticed the damage.

Despite following the usual complaint route through e-mails and telephones on the ‘railmadad’ website, the couple did not get a proper response from the authorities concerned even after months. Not even a phone call asking for information, except for a careless email saying that no rats were found in the ‘cages’ so his appeal was invalid, so it was closed!

“I preferred the normal way of filing a complaint instead of filing it on social media, but I am disappointed with the way to rectify the situation. It is shocking to note that there are no effective methods of controlling rats. The entire express rake was in a sad state as it has old and worn out coaches,” said the couple.

A recently retired government employee traveling from Hyderabad to Manmad and back by Manmad Express in 2AC category and his wife also faced the same problem a few months ago during their journey. “When we were about to sleep at night, I was shocked to see rats roaming around the AC coaches. Immediately, I brought it to the attention of the railway employee concerned. We couldn’t sleep after that,” K recalled. Anand.

South Central Railway (SCR) officials said AC coaches are inspected every 15 days and regular coaches once a month to reduce the risk of rats on trains and premises. Glue pads are placed to trap mice and cages and insect repellent gel is used to kill cockroaches.

Teams armed with LED lights, insecticide guns and hot air blowers are used to exterminate the bugs. “All complaints received are registered, acknowledged and responded to, immediately. A thorough investigation is done before handling the complaint,” said the official.

But, the information of how many complaints are received daily including food provided by IRCTC in trains and what action has been taken is not available.

(Experienced rats, cockroaches or bugs during your train journey? Send your reply to hyderabaddesk@thehindu.co.in or X to @THHyderabad)