Snails, rats wreak havoc in Mizoram

Dec 9, 2006, 5:00 GMT

Aizawl, Dec 9 (IANS) Tribal villagers in the northeastern state of Mizoram are faced with an unusual problem - millions of snails feasting on their crops.

Several villages in the Tlabung sub-division in southern Mizoram have witnessed large scale devastation of vegetables by giant snails, forcing authorities to order killing of the gastropods, officials Saturday said.

'We are taking the matter seriously after reports of snails in large numbers destroying vast tracts of green vegetables cultivated by farmers,' James Lalsiamliana, Mizoram's plant protection officer, told IANS.

A team of agriculture experts visited the area after the bizarre phenomenon was witnessed during the past 10 days.

'Community leaders are organising mass killing of snails in the area to prevent further loss of their produce. We have asked the locals to clean the surroundings and destroy the snails as it has a tendency to multiply rapidly,' the official said. Snails generally breed in freshwater, marine, and terrestrial environments.

The attack by the snails comes at a time when several villages in the state have reported large-scale raids by swarms of rats on paddy crops, fuelling fears of a famine in this mountainous state of little under one million people.

'Rats in their thousands went berserk destroying almost all the ripe paddy in at least 20 villages in three districts before it could be harvested in October and early November,' said Lalsiamliana, who is also head of Mizoram's Rodent Control Cell.

Mizoram Agriculture Minister H. Rammawi said reports of rats destroying farmlands follows vast forests of bamboo bursting into flower in many parts of the state.

'Gregarious bamboo flowering is taking place in many parts of the state. This bizarre phenomenon signals an impending catastrophe or a famine,' the minister said.

The Mizoram government had already sounded an alert saying a famine is going to hit the state next year. 'The rare phenomenon of bamboo flowering is a cyclical one and occurs every 48-years and so 2007 is the year when a famine is going to hit the state,' Rammawi said.

According to tribal legends, when bamboo flowers, famine, death and destruction follow. Behind the superstition lies some scientific truth, as blooming bamboo triggers an invasion of rats which proceed to eat away food supplies.

Rats multiply at a very rapid pace after eating protein-rich seeds that appears soon after bamboo flowering.

Bamboo grows wildly in 6,000 sq km of Mizoram's total geographical area of 21,000 sq km with the state, bordering Bangladesh and Myanmar, harvesting 40 percent of India's 80-million-tonne annual bamboo crop.

In 1958-59, a famine in the state of Mizoram resulted in the death of at least 100 people, besides heavy loss to human property and crops.

The famine, locally known as Mautam, broke out after the state witnessed the rare phenomenon of bamboo flowering and an increase in rodent population. Historical accounts say Mizoram recorded a famine in 1862 and again in 1911 after the state witnessed similar bamboo flowerings.

Separatist insurgencies in the northeast first started after the Mautam famine in 1958-59, with the legendary guerrilla leader Laldenga forming the Mizo Famine Front, which finally led to the formation of the Mizo National Front, one of India's most organised rebel armies.

The MNF waged a 20-year-long bush war against the Indian state for secession before signing a peace accord with New Delhi in 1986. The MNF is now a regional political party that heads the government in Mizoram led by former guerrilla leader Zoramthanga.

© 2006 Indo-Asian News Service