Rat attacks surge amid worsening infestation in Peshawar

PESHAWAR: A boy Umair, aged eleven, cried out in pain while sleeping with his family in their house located in Gunj Gate of Peshawar, all of them rushed into the light and found out blood seeping from his foot. What shocked everyone in the house were the two enormous rats found in the courtyard which attacked the poor boy.

This is not the first time that such a thing happened in Umair’s family. Previously, three members of the family have been attacked and bitten by the same rodents.

This has made their homes unsafe and scary for the residents of Gunj Gate. In their letters written to the municipal government and the local government, the people have expressed their concern about dirty drainage, garbage, and lack of sanitation that has made the rats breed in their areas.

Unfortunately, no measures have been taken yet to deal with the growing problems caused by the rats even though they have been complaining for years.

The rats attacking people has become a common issue not just in Gunj Gate, but also in many other areas including Kohati Gate, Qissa Khwani, Lahori Gate, Yakatoot, Beri Bagh, Panch Katha, Malikpura, and Chamkani.

Ayesha Munir, a mother of three from Chamkani, revealed that her five-year-old child often picks up and eats things from the floor. “Rats enter homes at night through drains. Despite blocking many entry points and using poison, the unusually large rats are no longer being killed by conventional pesticides.

Because of poor sanitation, children often pick up objects from the ground, leading to frequent stomach illnesses,” said Ayesha. Although she lodged complaints through the Citizen Portal, no action has been taken regarding the issue.

According to information obtained, Lady Reading Hospital alone receives approximately 900 rat-bite cases per month. During the past three months, nearly 3,000 rat-bite cases were reported at the hospital, most involving children under 15.

These patients received treatment at the hospital’s vaccination centre. Similarly, dozens of cases are reported daily at Khyber Teaching Hospital and Hayatabad Medical Complex.