The grand structure of Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru, the seat of the legislature in Karnataka, seems to have a rat and pest problem. On Monday, Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa was forced to face the issue ahead of official meetings in a committee room.
According to the Deccan Herald, when Yediyurappa reached the room, the stench was so strong that he reportedly lashed out at officials, asking, “what is this?” the newspaper reported.
The Hindu reported four such scheduled meetings were then held at the CM’s chamber away from the designated venue. However, it wasn’t just dead rats that plagued the committee room — there were reportedly bed bugs as well.
This is not a new problem at Vidhana Soudha, with Yediyurappa’s predecessor having tackled the same menace.
In 2015, the former CM Siddaramaiah had told the Legislative Council that his government had spent Rs 19.34 lakh for a five-year period to catch rodents in both Vidhana Soudha and Vikasa Soudha. Siddaramaiah had also said that 50 rats were killed in a month on average.
If Rs 20 lakh to catch rats and mice seems steep, Rs 1 lakh was recently sanctioned to catch cats. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike in March had floated a tender with an estimate of Rs 1 lakh for catching 30 tomcats in Raj Bhavan.
Speaking on this, the then Mayor Gangambike Mallikarjun had said the Palike received information about the cat menace in Raj Bhavan. “The BBMP Commissioner also had a look at this issue after Senior Assistant Director of Horticulture Department wrote a letter to BBMP Joint Commissioner of Animal Husbandry Department. Based on the contractor who is looking at the problem, we have been told that it will cost Rs 3,000 to catch one cat.”
TNM had earlier reported how the civic body floated tenders to trap 3,000 odd pigs to curb a swine menace.