In yet another bizarre claim, two Bihar ministers have blamed rodents for flooding in the state, The Hindu reported. In May, police officials had claimed that rats were drinking thousands of litres of liquor that had been seized and stored in stations.

Water Resources Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh said, “Rats are the main reason behind the seepage, especially in the Kamla Balan river embankment.” The minister claimed people living near the embankment store food grains on a raised platform. “This attracts rodents, which make holes in these embankments to access the grains, and this eventually causes seepage and floods”.

Minister for Minor Irrigation and Disaster Management, Dinesh Chandra Yadav said rats and mosquitoes are a perennial problem. “This has been a problem for a long time but what can you do,” he asked. “Can anyone claim to chase away rats from a place forever?”

Nearly 20 districts of Bihar were affected by floods in August. As many as 440 people have died, and nearly 1.7 crore people were affected by the deluge. Singh, however, claimed the holes in the embankments were “plugged by the government within 72 hours”.