Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Keeping pests at bay

Staff Reporter

OPERATION CLEAN-UP: Disinfectants being sprayed underneath the coaches by the personnel of the Kerala State Warehousing Corporation in Thiruvananthapuram Central railway station on Monday. Photo: C. Ratheesh Kumar

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Disinfecting of coaches is an important housekeeping activity of the Railways to ensure a comfortable journey to commuters. With the highest number of long-haul trains originating from Thiruvananthapuram railway division, the coach maintenance depot in the capital has a tough job at hand to keep the coaches clean. A live demonstration and public awareness programme was organised on Monday at the Central Railway Station in this regard. Briefing presspersons, Divisional Railway Manager S. Vijayakumaran and Additional Divisional Railway Manager Sulthan Mushathick said AC coaches and pantry cars were disinfected once in 15 days. Sleeper-class coaches were disinfected every month. Mr. Vijayakumaran said complaints about pest and rodent menace had come down considerably.

The Railways have appealed to the passengers to keep the coaches clean and not to litter them; otherwise, cockroaches, bugs and other pests will thrive. The railway division has a total holding of 1,133 coaches; the depot, the second largest of Southern Railway, has a holding of 700 coaches. Earlier, the railway staff used to resort to the conventional method of spraying highly poisonous substances mixed with water or kerosene for disinfecting. This was found ineffective. The work, as also rodent control, has now been entrusted to the Kerala State Warehousing Corporation.

The commonly noticed pests in coaches are cockroaches, spiders, bedbugs, mosquitoes and rodents. Pests attack passengers mainly at night. Rodents, which reproduce at a high rate, possess a remarkable capacity of adjusting themselves to any environmental conditions and run about seeking food during day and night. To control rodents, a new-generation rodenticide, Bromodiolone anticoagulant, is used, besides zinc phosphide and glue pads, a synthetic material capable of incapacitating rodents.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Prospects good for Kerala tourism
Irregularities in postal ballot distribution: CPI(M)
TB Hospital employees petition human rights commission
Government moves to face strike
Keeping pests at bay
Rich fare for Navarathri fete
Celebrating the art of talking
All set for The Hindu Young World Quiz
Two held on duping charge
MHC inmate found hanging
Two Government doctors suspended
Smoke in train leads to panic
Carmel school plans quiz contest for students
Thrust on tourism infrastructure
`Install speed governors'
Exhibition of swadeshi products
Examination
Around the City
In Thiruvananthapuram Today
Campus Notes

Copyright © 2005, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu