BENGALURU: While the people of Bengaluru have been grappling with the flooding and traffic mess every time it rains, a bunch of concerned people have been quietly doing their bit to save reptiles and birds caught in the rain fury. Over the last few weeks, the BBMP wildlife rescue team has been saving about 50 snakes every day.
According to Sharath Babu, who is part of the team, there are 22 volunteers in BBMP Wildlife rescue wing and each one of them get around 15 calls a day, that is around 300 calls a day. “Our volunteers rescue snakes and leave them at safe places away from human habitatation,’’ he said. Sharath said the team has been rescuing nearly 50 snakes a day since September, especially on days when the city receives heavy rain.
The rescued snakes include cobras, rat snakes, kukri snakes, kraits and trinket snakes. The teams gets calls from the outlying areas as well as the central parts of the city. This is mainly because of garbage heaps where rodents thrive, which, in turn, attracts snakes. “In fact, our team has rescued snakes from Raj Bhavan, Vidhana Soudha and the High Court building,’’ he added. The volunteers also rescue kites, crows and squirrels and leave them at rescue centres run by NGOs at Horamavu, Kengeri and Bannerghatta.
Nagabhushan, a wildlife rescuer, said that normally, snakes come out from drains, manholes, borrows and other places in the low-lying area feeding on rats and frogs.
During monsoon, when water enters these places, the snakes come out looking for safe places, he said.
“In the city most of snakes are non-venomous. If people find snakes in houses, they can call the BBMP control room for help. If non-venomous snakes are found on the streets, there is no need to be alarmed as they are harmless,’’ he said.
WHO YOU GONNA CALL?
BBMP Control room
Central control room: 22221188, 22975595
South: 26566362
East: 22975803
West: 22975936
Dasarahalli: 28393688, 22975904
Yelahanka: 22975936
Bommanahalli: 25732447, 25735642
Mahadevapura: 28512300, 28512301
Rajarajeshwari Nagar: 28601851, 286009
