Thousands of rats have been poisoned to death in Mizoram after armies of rodents rampaged rice fields, fuelling fears of a famine in the region. "Countless number of rodents got killed in the past two months with a massive campaign on in the State to eliminate rats using poisonous chemicals," James Lalsiamliana, head of Mizoram's Rodent Control Cell said. The State's plan to kill rats followed reports of large-scale raids by medium-sized rodents on paddy crops. "Rats in thousands went berserk destroying almost all the ripe paddy in at least 20 villages in three districts before it could be harvested," said Lalsiamliana. The districts of Champhai, Serchip and Aizawl are the worst hit by the rat invasion.