Families flee snake menace in Birbhum

SNEHAMOY CHAKRABORTY, TT,  Nanoor, Oct. 8: At least 10 families of a Birbhum village have fled homes out of sheer panic after four persons died of snakebite over the past two months.

Residents of Penga village in Nanoor, about 30km from Bolpur town, said that over the past six months, a dozen people had died of snakebites. The village has a population of about 800.

The villagers have so far killed over 100 snakes, many of them venomous, and pruned the bushes that surround their homes. The snakes killed were mostly identified as cobra and krait, which were found in large numbers in and around the village that has large swathes of unkempt bushes and undergrowths.

The villagers said they had repeatedly appealed to the local gram panchayat to take initiatives, but to no avail. Calls to the local panchayat member, Dinabandhu Ghosh, went unanswered.

According to the villagers, most of the victims had been bitten in their sleep at night.

The panic has prompted an exodus, with 10 families fleeing the village in the past two months and many preparing to do so.

Rathin Ghosh, a farmer, had to shift to Bolpur with his family two months ago. He now works as a day labourer and stays in a rented house. Rathin's mother and his niece died of snakebite within a span of 18 days.

"I have a home and five bighas of land in Penga but I don't want to return because of the fear of snakes. I don't want any further loss of life in my family," Rathin told The Telegraph.

A section of the villagers has been sleeping during the day for the past several months and watching out for snakes at night.

The block development officer of Nanoor, Mrinal Kanti Biswas, said: "I will have to inquire into the cases there. No one has informed me about the snake menace in that village. I will immediately seek the help of forest officials,"

The forest range officer in Bolpur, N.K. Baidya, said: "We are yet to be informed by the local administration about snakes in that village. we will remove the weeds and bushes in and around the village."

Dinabandhu Biswas, a science teacher who also catches snakes, explained why there could be a rise in the number of reptiles. "This is the time when the temperature starts to fall and snakes approach their hibernation period. The snakes, at this time, look for warmth in holes and they need food," Biswas said.

Sanjoy Saha, a farmer, said: "We are in the process of cutting the bushes . We also require a lot of carbolic acid to ward off snakes."