The Flowering of the Bamboo - Horror Story

It has started.

RATS!

For the first time in a half-century, the dreaded bamboo flowering has begun in parts of Manipur.

The Mautam, as the mysterious occurrence is known in the Mizo language, is disastrous for two reasons.

First, after flowering, bamboo dies almost immediately, rendering it almost completely useless. Whole swaths of bamboo forests disappear.

Second, the sudden prevalence of bamboo seeds leads to an explosion in the regional rat population. The rodents decimate more than just the bamboo blossoms, however, and inevitably turn their attentions to the locals’ foodgrain stores.

So great is the fear of the imminent blossoms that in areas of Churachandpur District only recently cleared of militant activity, the Indian Army has been redeployed – to go on an emergency education spree about rats.
The enormous bamboo forests of the Northeast spread across Manipur, as well as Mizoram, Tripura and parts of Assam.

Although the plants only blossom once every 48 years, the occurrence has long been known to lead to widespread famine.

The last time that the bamboo in the region blossomed was in the late 1950s. The picture show the bamboo seed eaten by rats.

A report by India's forest and environment ministry predicts that at least 5,100 sq km of Mizoram's forest area (out of a total of 6,446 sq km of forest) will be affected by the Mautam in 2007.

The Mizoram agriculture department anticipates a crop shortfall of at least 75% in 2007-2008 because of farmers not planting.

And why do farmers not plant? It's futile because waves of rats devour everything.

Desperate to control the rising rat population, the state government announced a reward of one rupee for every rat killed.
During 2006 alone more than 221,636 rats were killed. The killing continues but the rats keep coming in hordes.

The photo shows rats tails in a heap to keep tally!

It was in October 2005 that the initial heavy flowering of the bamboo was first noticed at Chawngtlai bamboo forest in the southern district of Champhai.
It then spread rapidly in 2006.

Tribal elders in Mizoram remember the deadly Mautam of 1958-59, that led to a widespread famine in the Mizo Hills, then a part of Assam.

This famine resulted in the formation of the Mizo National Front and disaffected young people blamed India for turning a blind eye to their desperation. That resulted in the struggle for 'Independence' from India. Rats caused insurgency.

The BBC has the full story here