Following repeated complaints of rats gnawing feet of patients in the psychiatry department of the MDM Hospital in Jodhpur, the administration on Monday set up an inquiry committee to look into the matter.
The family members of at least four mentally ill patients complained about similar incidents in the past week, prompting the Mathura Das Mathur (MDM) Hospital administration to intervene.
"We have constituted a committee, which will first ascertain if the injuries sustained by the patients in the psychiatry department have been caused by rats or due to any other reason," Dilip Kachhwaha, Principal and Controller of SN Medical College and associated group of hospitals in Jodhpur, said.
Even as necessary steps will be taken based on the report, the hospital administration has been directed to initiate action against Rajasthan Pest Control, the agency responsible for pest control in the hospital, Mr Kachhwaha said.
Stating that there are risks involved in pesticide spray in the psychiatry ward considering the medical condition of the patients, the administration said it has decided to evacuate the ward.
The MDM hospital, which is Jodhpur division's largest government hospital, has become a home to rats with ongoing construction work and food waste littered on the floor providing a conducive habitat to the rodents.
Owing to the unhygienic conditions and open pits and craters, the population of rats at the hospital has been constantly increasing but there has been no action by the pest control agency, nor the administration, hospital sources said.
Referring to the latest incident, the head of the psychiatry department said he had warned the administration about the issue of the increasing rat population in the ward.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Featured Video Of The Day
Karnataka Local Quota In Jobs: Parochialism Pips Professionalism?
IIT Jodhpur To Offer BTech Course In Hindi IIT Jodhpur Offers NIT Students Direct Admission To PhD Programme Section 144 Imposed After Clash Breaks Out In Rajasthan: Cops Amid Huge Row, Karnataka Pauses Bill For Reservation In Private Sector Firms Travel Influencer Aanvi Kamdar Dies After Falling Off A Waterfall Near Mumbai Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw Opposes Karnataka's Job Quota Bill, Minister Responds On Camera, Jagan Reddy's Party Member Hacked To Death On Busy Andhra Road QS Executive MBA Rankings 2024: IIM Bangalore Tops Among Indian Institutes US Cop Who Laughed After Indian Student Jaahnavi Kandula's Death Fired Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.