Forget the incidents of hospital patients nibbled by rats, the mucoid rodents in Raipur shockingly leapt at as many as 17 medical students plus, pecked at their feet and toe fingers in the girls hostel of Pt Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College in Chhattisgarh capital, as stated in a report by The New Indian Express.
The MBBS students were asleep in the old girls hostel of the hospital after having their night supper when the strike by rats created an alarming situation as a few students noted that blood was trickling from their toe fingers. Many later noted abrasions on their feet.
The students stated that they had earlier lodged complaints with the medical college management about the rat menace but couldn't find relief. The incident nevertheless has left the students much distressed.
"For the last three to four months, rat sightings and crawling across the floor of the hostel during night hours have become quite common. Rats are a health hazard and can be spotted anywhere. Besides our food, they are damaging our expensive books and literature," the affected students claimed.
The medical hospital's spokesperson Shubra Singh confirmed the incident to The New Indian Express and said that all the medical girl students were administered vaccines against any possible infectious or complications arising out of rat bites.
"The rat bites were reported in the dormitory area of the girls hostel. It has been vacated and the students have been shifted by the medical college administration to PG hostels and other safer rooms," she said.
"We have received complaints of girl students bitten by rats in the hostel. Strict instruction has been issued to all concerned to maintain cleanliness and hygiene in the hostel rooms and premises," said Dr Tripti Nagariya, Dean, of the medical college. The students too have been given an advisory not to leave the leftover food items in the open.
The medical college and hospital have had a tough time controlling the rat menace, despite issuing a rat-killing contract to get rid of the rodents.
