An astounding reply to an RTI query has revealed that the Lucknow division of the Northern Railways spent nearly Rs 69.5 lakh during the 2020-2022 period to catch around 168 rats. That is around Rs 41,000 to catch a single rodent.
According to a report in The Times of India, the RTI application directed at the Northern Railways was filed by an RTI activist Chandrashekhar Gaur, who is based out of Madhya Pradesh’s Neemuch. The numbers reveal that an average of around Rs 23.2 lakh was spent per year to catch rodents.
In the RTI reply given to the question of who catches the rats, the Lucknow division responded that a contract-based system is in place and that Central Warehousing Corporation in Lucknow’s Gomti Nagar is entrusted with the task.
