Rat Menace Grips the Armed Forces

Armed Forces Medical Services tasked to reduce rat population
New Delhi: Army is searching for a Pied Piper in Ladakh where rats are gobbling up its ration which reaches there through a long and arduous supply route. The Indian Army stocks supplies for winter in the summer itself as the road links to higher altitudes remains cut-off from the rest of the country in winter due to heavy snowfall for around six months.
As the roads are too narrow, they take the help of mules to carry these rations and other essential supplies to an altitude of over 15,000 feet. Since there is significant rodent infestation in the Army settlements in higher altitudes, the Medical Research Wing of the Armed Forces Medical Services are going to undertake a study to find out the extent of the problem of rodent nuisance in eastern and western Ladakh armed forces settings.
"Rats cause a great deal of nuisance everywhere. They spoil precious stocks, lead to nuisance and also spread diseases. Army settlements in higher altitudes are not spared from this as these rats are spoiling the winter stocks.
"All conventional methods of controlling them are not as effective as they are in the plains," Lieutenant General Naresh Kumar, Commandant, Army Hospital Research and referral and officiating DGAFMS said.
Conventional methods exist to control rodent nuisance like rat traps, rodenticides and repellents have failed in Ladakh. "Carrying rations and other essential supplies to an altitude of over 15,000 feet is no easy task. As such we have decided to conduct a study to identify the problem of rodent nuisance in eastern Ladakh and western Ladakh in Armed Forces setting and evaluate various methods to control them for effective management of their infestation in our areas in eastern and western Ladakh," Major General Mandeep Singh, ADG, Medical Research, Armed Forces Medical Services said.
Rats not only waste our food grains like wheat, rice and atta but they also cause a great deal of nuisance by scampering, running around and making noise.
And needless to say they are carriers of various diseases, he said.
"None of these conventional methods are of help to us. In the study that will be undertaken, we will concentrate on three aspects. We will look for measures to identify the most effective technique to control the nuisance spread by rats.
While looking into the various nuisance spread by them we will also find if they have the potential to spread diseases," Lieutenant Colonel Dennis Abraham, preventive medicine specialist said.
"These rats never were present here in the higher altitudes or came in with the food stock in trucks and gradually breeded in large quantities -- all these details need to be found out.
"There is no established study of rodent nuisance in higher altitudes," he said. PTI
Army is searching for a Pied Piper in Ladakh

Comment: Chinese love Rats. Mr Zhang's restaurant is as trendy as they serve rat dishes. The 15-table, two-story eatery is a mixture of blond wood furniture, stucco walls and wooden lattice laced with plastic vines. What we need to do is trade rats with PLA Soldiers in exchange for critical food items.

One Crore Beneficiaries

The ex-servicemen contributory health scheme (ECHS) was approved by Government of India on 30 December 2002 and launched with effect from 1 April 2003. ECHS is an adjunct to existing infrastructure of Armed Forces Medical Services. It is an entirely public-funded scheme underwritten by the Ministry of Defence, Government of India. ECHS is a comprehensive health care scheme to cater to the needs of pensioners of Armed Forces within easy reach of their place of residence including in far-flung areas. The main purpose is to be able to manage efficiently the needs of 20 lakh ex-servicemen pensioners population and their dependents totaling to one crore beneficiaries. Retired Armed Forces Pensioners so far did not have any Medicare scheme, which would parallel the one available to other Central Government employees. The existing Army Group Insurance (AGI) and Air Force Group Insurance Scheme (AFGIS) had many limitations and covered only small number of diseases.

Polyclinics
GOI/MOD has initially sanctioned 227 polyclinics spread all over India, which are to be constructed by 31 March 2008.

Configuration. The configuration depends on the population of ex-servicemen (ESM) in that area. The different types of polyclinics will differ in terms of manpower. Types A and B will have a medical specialist, a gynaecologist and an extra medical officer as compared to types C and D.

Medical equipment and manpower. Polyclinic in military stations are supported by local military hospitals for both equipment and manpower.

Drugs and consumables. In military stations, indents are generated from polyclinics and the collections made through senior executive medical officer. He can use enhanced financial powers for not available (NA) items through Director General Local Purchase (DGLP) fund. In non-military stations, officer-in-charge polyclinics send demand through empanelled druggist. The bills submitted every 15 days are charged through station commander. Ceiling limit for local purchase by OIC polyclinic depends on type of polyclinic and ranges from 30,000 per month for types C and D polyclinics to 50,000 for types A and B. The financial power range from 20,000 to one lakh depends upon the rank of the SEMO/Commander.

Teething problems
One major problem that is being faced is lack of publicity in non-military stations where ESM are living in far-flung regions and remote villages.

The ones already aware have put on the "wait and watch" attitude and are reluctant to change their existing way of life.

The "smart CArd" is still in infancy and the distribution is slow; the electronic system may have its own hang-up initially.

Medical and paramedical personals are not coming forward to take up employment, as it is contractual in nature and the remunerations do not commensurate with qualifications. In addition to this, the QR is not attracting competent professionals.

There is an additional load on already busy military hospitals for indenting, empanelment, processing of bills, technical preparation and purchase of drugs. Additional logistic support is needed for smooth conduct at polyclinics.

Dr Deswal B S
Department of Community Medicine, Armed Forces Medical College, Pune - 411 040, Maharashtra, India
For more information email: deswal_bbir@rediffmail.com