Move over cows, cattle and Romeo, here comes Yogi govt’s new ‘catch rats’ campaign!

Now Uttar Pradesh administration will be seen running after the rats as the Yogi government issued an order on February 25 to catch rats and mole rats to protect farms and people. This has drawn the ire of the opposition.

The Telegraph quoted an official from the agricultural directorate saying, “There’s been a general complaint that rats are not only damaging crops and bothering households but are also spreading deadly viruses. We have reports that all the 75 districts are acting on the directive.”

The district agriculture officer of Hamirpur was ordered by the state agriculture department to make the district rat-free by putting wire mesh traps, acting on which over 50 employees have been deployed for this catch drive.

“We have been asked to make the district rat-free. “We have been told this anti-rat drive is to protect farms and homes and shield people from communicable diseases,” Saras Kumar Tiwari, the district agriculture officer of Hamirpur told The Telegraph.

Tiwari said, “The drive began on March 1 and will continue till the 31st of this month. Besides catching rats, we are also spreading popular awareness about the diseases these animals spread.”

Congress leaders criticised the new campaign of the Yogi government and compared it to the fate “anti-Romeo” and “anti-crime” drives of the Yogi government met.

Taking a jibe at the new ‘campaign, the state Congress leader Dwijendra Tripathi was quoted by The Telegraph as saying, “Adityanath had launched an anti-crime campaign but his own police say the state still witnesses half-a-dozen murders and a dozen rapes every day.

“He had also formed an anti-Romeo squad within the police to protect women but it became defunct, and at least two women are committing suicide every day. Women are leaving school and college in fear of rapists and molesters. His government had also started a drive against stray cattle but the animals continue to damage standing crops. Now the chief minister wants to free the state of rats!”

State Congress spokesperson Brajesh Badal lashed out at the Yogi Government by saying that harassing rats means harassing Lord Ganesh who rides a rat.

He said “Adityanath says he will punish those who harass cows because Hindus believe that the cow is our mother. Similarly, Lord Ganesh rides a rat; so rats are holy for us too. The chief minister, who is a monk, should keep that in mind because harassing rats means harassing Lord Ganesh.”

The details of how much money will be spent on this campaign by the Uttar Pradesh government are not yet known.