| Rodents attack residents of Chelyabinsk Chelyabinsk authorities have declared war on rats, whose population in the city has increased, according to various estimates, three to four times over the past three years. The most difficult situation is in the Kalininsky and Leninsky districts, where there are many private buildings. Here, disinfectants catch 15-20 rats in a house every day. The number of rodents has become so large that residents constantly contact the city hall whose property has been seriously damaged by rats. City motorists were among the first to suffer, as rodents crawl under the hood of their cars in search of warmth, and once warmed up, they begin to devour the electrical wires surrounding them. However, this is not the worst thing - lately rats have begun to attack people. Doctors keep statistics on bites secret, but the mayor’s office is already sounding the alarm.
Due to the deterioration of the situation, the mayor of Chelyabinsk, Vyacheslav Tarasov, issued an order to launch the “City Without Rodents” hotline, by calling the number, any city resident can tell about places where rats gather in large numbers. Disinfection station employees are required to respond immediately to all messages. Vice-mayor of the city Alexander Kovalenko said that to improve the work of this service, the administration increased its budget by 30 thousand rubles. In addition to responding to calls from citizens as part of the emergency plan to save Chelyabinsk, disinfection will be carried out in places of spontaneous trade and at unauthorized landfills.
Commenting on the current situation, sanitary doctors recall how two years ago they warned the city authorities and residents about the beginning of an increase in the number of rats and asked them to take action, but their calls were not heard. The reason for the increase in the rat population is said to be poor maintenance of the housing stock, poor cleaning of garbage collection chambers and disruptions in garbage collection schedules, which can rot in city yards for weeks.
The measures currently being taken by the authorities do not inspire confidence among disinfectors: the notorious hotline works only five hours a day and only three days a week. The DEZ believes that officials have not yet assessed all the possible consequences of an invasion of rats, which are considered smart animals and manage to survive despite all the disinfection carried out. The situation could be saved by increasing the staff of disinfection stations (currently a team of 50 people serves 200 objects daily); however, experts do not promise a complete solution to the problem and cite scientific research, according to which even if the entire population of the planet fights rodents, every tenth rat will still survive. Mikhail VIUGIN, Ekaterinburg |
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