Second Rat-Caused Famine Hits Kachin Hills

Written by KNG
Friday, 16 October 2009 16:09
Rat infestation has caused severe famine for the second time in recent memory in the Kachin hills in military-ruled Burma’s northern Kachin State, said local sources.

In a 50-year cycle, bamboos flower when bamboo groves begin to die. The flowers are eaten by rodents which multiply in huge numbers. The rats go on the rampage and eat crops both on the field and in godown storages, causing famine. The phenomenon is common in Chin state, Burma and contiguous Mizoram state in northeast India.

The small rats, also called Yu Nun in Kachin language have destroyed all standing crops in the Triangle Areas, which are under the control of the 1st Brigade of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) since June, said local sources.

According to data compiled by the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), the political-wing of the KIA, 1,086 Kachin villagers in 16 villages in Hkin Dawng and Dagu Lum Townships in Puta-O district of KIO/KIA are suffering the effects of the famine caused by rats.