Rats feast on cough syrup, saline water in Bihar hospital
2 min readPatna: After feasting on costly wine bottles stored in police storerooms, rats are now being blamed for sipping cough syrup, saline water and other medicines stored for patients in a hospital in Bihar.
Authorities at the Nalanda Medical and Hospital (NMCH), a government hospital located in Patna, were surprised when they found several bottles of medicines damaged and empty. Witnesses said many rats were found moving about in a groggy state on the hospital premises after apparently feasting on medicines packed in cartons meant for emergency patients.
“Uncontrolled rat population have left authorities worried as they are causing heavy damages. They are not only drinking sweet-tasting syrups, but also the saline water and sterile water for injections,” a nursing staff at the hospital said. “Many saline water or cough syrup bottles have been emptied with the rats puncturing holes in them,” she added. They say the menace has increased so much that rats have even resorted to gnawing through aluminium sheets fitted in the door and window panes to prevent them from entering the storerooms. The harried hospital staff have now sought protection from the roaming rodents.
Last year, the rodents had been blamed for biting into metal cans of wine or beer stuffed in police storerooms and guzzling around a million litres of seized alcohol stocks stored there. The allegations had prompted the authorities to issue orders to drive out rodents from police offices.
The nuisance came to light during a police meeting when Patna’s senior superintendent of police inquired from officials about the status of the seized contraband stored in police stations. It was then that a majority of his subordinates put the blame on rats for destroying almost all alcohol bottles.
When the SSP asked as to how could rats guzzle such a huge quantity of liquor, he was told the rodents allegedly gnawed through the caps or tops of the cans and sipped the intoxicants. “Sir, using their razor sharp incisors, they easily make holes in the caps of liquor bottle or beer cans and drink alcohol kept in the storehouses,” the local media quoted the police inspectors as having told the SSP.
Courtesy: Gulf News
