BARIPADA: A college student purportedly not trained to handle or rescue reptiles suffered a venomous snake bite when she was allegedly removing it from a house in Baripada town on Friday.
According to sources, the girl and her father, also untrained, were at the house for the task. The girl, identified as Soumya Satpathy of Murgabadi area under Bhanjpur police limits, reportedly caught the snake and placed it inside a plastic bottle before going to Baripada district headquarters hospital for treatment. Doctors administered anti-venom to her and her condition is stated to be stable.
Environmentalists allege that several untrained individuals operate in Baripada and nearby villages to rescue snakes from homes for money, and some even invoke religious beliefs to justify their activities.
The forest and wildlife department in Mayurbhanj has issued notices and urged people to contact the officially registered snake rescue helpline when needed. Only authorised individuals with the required training are permitted to carry out such rescue operations.
Chandan Kumar Gochhayat, a trained snake rescuer, said several untrained people were allegedly engaging in the activity in Baripada, posing a risk to themselves and public safety.
Field director of STR, Prakash Chand Gogineni, has directed the divisional forest officer in Baripada to take immediate action against those involved in snake rescue operations without proper training.