Rust never sleeps

A PLAGUE of rats, mosquitoes, and cockroaches afflicting Palma has resulted in more than 3,000 official complaints to city council from disgusted citizens. It is an unprecedented level of complaints, with the number expected to exceed 4,000 before the year is out. 

That brings the volume of grumbles to roughly the same level as Valencia, a city with a substantially higher population, almost double Palma’s 400,000 at some 790,000. 

Fortunately the anger hasn’t fallen on entirely deaf ears. The council has promised to double the pest control budget next year to E500,000, much of which will go down the drain, not metaphorically but to tackle the rusty sewer system. 

Much of the real difference can be made by the actions of ordinary citizens.

Simple practices like leaving food for animals in parks contribute a great deal to the rising vermin population, and people are asked to seal bin bags and clean up properly around their homes.