Air Asia QZ8501 Day 10 - Slow progress in AirAsia crash search AFP Jan 06, 2015
PANGKALAN BUN, Indonesia - Recovery teams made patchy progress Tuesday in the search for bodies from the wreckage of AirAsia Flight 8501, finding the remains of just two more victims on the tenth day of operations. Hindered by rough seas, the teams have found fewer than 40 bodies since the plane crashed during a storm early on December 28, carrying 162 people from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore.
"Rat infestation at Bukit Batok over: Pest controllers - CNA 06 January 2014
SINGAPORE: The rat infestation episode at Bukit Batok seems to be over - according to Star Pest Control, which carried out the extermination process.
The second phase of the process, which focused on monitoring the situation in the area, ends on Wednesday (Jan 7).
Said Mr Bernard Chan, Manager at Star Pest Control: “For the past two weeks, we have installed between 10 to 30 surveillance cameras on a few occasions, which can also work at night by using infra-red technology. With images that we have captured, we observed that there is no more rat activity.”
Authorities had said earlier that the rat problem could be due to people feeding stray dogs in the area, and leaving food for the rodents to feast on. Some residents said that stray dogs can still be seen in the vicinity, but none were spotted when MediaCorp visited Bukit Batok MRT on Tuesday afternoon.
Star Pest Control said it will continue to monitor the situation, but it does not believe that the infestation is likely to recur.
"We did observe that there are some feeders still feeding strays. However, we also see that the relevant authorities like AVA and NEA officers are around to advise the feeder. I think the situation definitely can get better. So I believe everyone is aware now. And everyone will be putting extra effort to ensure that this will not happen again,” Mr Chan said."
Good to learn that at least an issue that should not happened in a World Class Vibrant Global City has been eradicated.
Lessons for me are:
1. are the 'good-intention-but-yielded-not-so-good-result' stray dogs feeders convinced that they had partly contributed to the rats infestation problem? IF NOT, who is right then? Or it is just to grey to call what had really caused the rats' population to explore?;
2. IF it is really the leftover foods for the stray dogs that caused the infestation of rats, what can be done to prevent it from recurring. Like they say, when there is food, there are rats!! Have education been tried? I believed so. Have threats or actual fines being imposed on the 'kind-hearted' stray dogs feeders? Probably not as there seems to be some 'animal rights' folks around to pitch for the stray dogs, and cats I read too, right to co-exist with human kind!;
3. for folks like me who are NOT at GROUND ZERO, it is purely an academic exercise of looking at an array of possible causes and solutions to the problem. Whatever the solution may be, it will be foolish to expect full support in this day and age. Given that full support is not possible, the authorities just have to patiently explain WHY the stray dogs feeders will be dealt with strictly and with mercy for continuing to feed the strays while trying to understand the emotional attachment to their desires to 'do good'!
No more RATS! Great job to the pest controllers. The residents around that area who were very bothered can relax now. Happy 2015!!
PANGKALAN BUN, Indonesia - Recovery teams made patchy progress Tuesday in the search for bodies from the wreckage of AirAsia Flight 8501, finding the remains of just two more victims on the tenth day of operations. Hindered by rough seas, the teams have found fewer than 40 bodies since the plane crashed during a storm early on December 28, carrying 162 people from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore.
"Rat infestation at Bukit Batok over: Pest controllers - CNA 06 January 2014
SINGAPORE: The rat infestation episode at Bukit Batok seems to be over - according to Star Pest Control, which carried out the extermination process.
The second phase of the process, which focused on monitoring the situation in the area, ends on Wednesday (Jan 7).
Said Mr Bernard Chan, Manager at Star Pest Control: “For the past two weeks, we have installed between 10 to 30 surveillance cameras on a few occasions, which can also work at night by using infra-red technology. With images that we have captured, we observed that there is no more rat activity.”
Authorities had said earlier that the rat problem could be due to people feeding stray dogs in the area, and leaving food for the rodents to feast on. Some residents said that stray dogs can still be seen in the vicinity, but none were spotted when MediaCorp visited Bukit Batok MRT on Tuesday afternoon.
Star Pest Control said it will continue to monitor the situation, but it does not believe that the infestation is likely to recur.
"We did observe that there are some feeders still feeding strays. However, we also see that the relevant authorities like AVA and NEA officers are around to advise the feeder. I think the situation definitely can get better. So I believe everyone is aware now. And everyone will be putting extra effort to ensure that this will not happen again,” Mr Chan said."
Good to learn that at least an issue that should not happened in a World Class Vibrant Global City has been eradicated.
Lessons for me are:
1. are the 'good-intention-but-yielded-not-so-good-result' stray dogs feeders convinced that they had partly contributed to the rats infestation problem? IF NOT, who is right then? Or it is just to grey to call what had really caused the rats' population to explore?;
2. IF it is really the leftover foods for the stray dogs that caused the infestation of rats, what can be done to prevent it from recurring. Like they say, when there is food, there are rats!! Have education been tried? I believed so. Have threats or actual fines being imposed on the 'kind-hearted' stray dogs feeders? Probably not as there seems to be some 'animal rights' folks around to pitch for the stray dogs, and cats I read too, right to co-exist with human kind!;
3. for folks like me who are NOT at GROUND ZERO, it is purely an academic exercise of looking at an array of possible causes and solutions to the problem. Whatever the solution may be, it will be foolish to expect full support in this day and age. Given that full support is not possible, the authorities just have to patiently explain WHY the stray dogs feeders will be dealt with strictly and with mercy for continuing to feed the strays while trying to understand the emotional attachment to their desires to 'do good'!
No more RATS! Great job to the pest controllers. The residents around that area who were very bothered can relax now. Happy 2015!!
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