Rodent infestation strikes 15 Mizoram villages; officials link it to Thingtam famine
Mass bamboo flowering triggers rat surge in 15 villages, threatening harvests and raising famine-like ‘Thingtam’ concerns.
An image of bamboo flowers bloom.
Aizawl, Sept 22: A sudden rodent outbreak has struck 15 villages in north-western Mizoram’s Mamit district, a border region adjoining Bangladesh and Tripura. Officials warn the invasion is tied to the cyclical ‘Thingtam’ famine phenomenon, triggered by the mass flowering of rawthing bamboo (Bambusa tulda), which unleashes a population explosion of rats.
District Agriculture Officer (DAO) Ngurrinsanga Sailo confirmed on Sunday that villages including Phuldungsei, Kawnmawi, Lallen, Saithah, Rulpuihlim, Khawrihnim, Reiek, Lungphun, Kanghmun, South Sabual, Hmunpui, Pukzing, West Phaileng, Parvatui and Pukzing Vengthar have all reported fresh outbreaks.
“Teams of agriculture officials have been dispatched to guide farmers and village council leaders on the use of rodenticides,” Sailo said over phone from Mamit, adding, “wherever outbreaks are reported, we are distributing rodenticides to farmers as quickly as possible.”
Given manpower shortages at the district office, Sailo said consignments of rodenticide have also been sent directly to village council leaders in remote areas, along with detailed instructions on safe and effective use.
Heavy monsoon rains have aggravated the crisis, spurring rampant weed growth in jhum (shifting cultivation) fields. The thick undergrowth has hampered field clearing, leaving paddy crops highly vulnerable to rodent attacks, Sailo explained.
The Mamit outbreak comes just days after similar reports from south Mizoram’s Lunglei district, where swarms of rats devastated paddy and soybean fields in Mamte and Lungrang South villages.
Agricultural scientists have long cautioned that the mass flowering of bamboo species, locally called ‘rawthing’, triggers rat infestations that culminate in ‘Thingtam,’ a famine-like situation when rodents sweep through ripening crops. With fresh outbreaks emerging from both northern and southern Mizoram, officials now fear severe crop losses unless the menace is contained quickly.