According to an AP report in the Boston Globe, New Delhi has a rat-catching department, 97 workers strong, that hasn't caught a single rat in the last decade.
This city department saw a lot of rats in their traps in 1994, during a plague outbreak near the capital, The Hindustan Times newspaper reported. But even though rats are still widespread in the city, and can be seen scurrying in the streets and parks, officials in the department "couldn't recall when or where they had last set up a trap," the newspaper said.
Many residents use their own traps to catch rats in the absence of any government effort to catch the rodents, which often carry diseases, including the plague.New Delhi officials were not immediately available for comment, but the daily quoted officials as saying that whenever they receive complaints about rodents in other government departments, they set up traps to catch them.
New Delhi's rat-catchers are being paid around $77 per month to not set traps, not ferret out rat nests, and not catch rats.
Perhaps they should consider outsourcing.
Article comments
1 - Victor Plenty
Maybe they could hire some unemployed cats.
2 - DrPat
There's a cat lives downhill from me; he hasn't got a job.
Think they let the rat-catchers laze around all day, or do they have to look busy while doing nothing?
(I've done that, it's dem hard work!)
3 - Ashok K. Banker
They should move to Mumbai (Bombay). Our rat catchers here have their hands full (often literally)!
4 - Victor Plenty
You know, DrPat, this could be a good place to link Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH (ASIN 0689710682) if you happen to feel like adding another book link.
Ashok, from the sound of things, the New Delhi rat catchers would rather not get anywhere near Mumbai, where they might actually have to do stuff.
5 - Sammy
I heard Bush has hired them to find Bin Laden
6 - Victor Plenty
The rats probably know just where bin Laden is. The rat-catchers might have no more clue as to his whereabouts than the CIA does.
7 - Mark Sahm
The explanation could be that the rat-catchers are actually giant rats disguised as humans, a la Vincent D'Onofrio from Men In Black.
8 - DrPat
Vincent, I actually drifted over the ASIN for Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH for nearly 5 minutes before I decided not to link it.
Thanks for sticking the ASIN in comments, where readers can still grab it if they wish.
9 - Eric Berlin
Maybe these employees are so good at what they do that there are no rats left to be caught?
10 - Eric Berlin
Never mind, just noticed the bit about "rats everywhere."
Maybe the rats have become so good at thwarting traps that the rat catchers have given up on that strategy?
11 - DrPat
I think this report must have been a toss-off comment a la Yahoo's Weird News category -- search as I might, I found nothing more on it.
Perhaps someone "closer to the ground" in New Delhi might enlighten us all here...
12 - Nancy
They could come to DC ... plenty of 2-legged rats here, both on & off The Hill.
13 - DrPat
Gosh, yes, they'd fit right into Washington -- the whole not-working thing and all...
14 - Victor Plenty
Eating hundred-dollar-a-plate dinners on somebody else's dime is hard, tough work, I'm sure everyone in Washington would have us know.