The people of Mizoram, a tiny,
remote state of north-east India squeezed between Burma
and Bangladesh, have known for the past 48 years that they
would face famine in 2008.
Confirmation came last November when the local species of
bamboo that dominates the state's landscape began to burst
into flower - a peculiar ecological phenomenon that happens
about twice a century.
A plague of rats rapidly followed, feasting on the bamboo's
protein-rich avocado-like fruit, before swarming to consume
the farmers' rice paddies, grain harvests and food stockpiles.
Now up to a million people are facing hunger, according
to aid agencies.
Mrinal Gohain, of charity Action Aid, said: "There
were rats all over the fields. Farmers would go to harvest
their crops and find that the entire field had been eaten
overnight."
Although the state government had ample warning and has
been making preparations for four years, its emergency measures
have proved inadequate in the face of the exploding rat
population.
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