Snake enclosure plan at safari park

BIRESWAR BANERJEE, TT, Apr 02, 2018, Siliguri: The state forest department will soon develop a snake enclosure at Bengal Safari Park for rescued snakes, forest minister Binay Krishna Burman said on Sunday.

"We are nurturing the idea of developing a separate snake enclosure inside the park as there is no such centre across the region. I have spoken with the officials of forest department so that they can take necessary steps for developing the centre at the park," Burman said.

"During summer and monsoon, snakes like python, often strays in localities situated on the fringes of forest. If we can get a dedicated enclosure at the park, we can release the captured snakes at the centre. This will also help create a safer place for them," he added.

Sources in the forest department said that there are at least 250 snakes rescued by the forest staffs and NGOs every month. They, then, releases the reptiles into the forest areas.

Manasbandhu Majumdar, representative of an wildlife NGO, said: "There are more than 350 species of snakes available across the country and out of these around 125 species are available in the forests of north Bengal. Python, king cobra, vine snake, kukri and different species of krait, trinket and others are some of the species available in this region."

The park, located around 11km from Siliguri, is spread over an area of 200 hectares and was inaugurated in January 2016.

Leopard safari is slated to begin from mid-April at the park.