KOCHI: On a day snake catcher Vava Suresh left the hospital after battling for life for a week after suffering a snakebit, the forest department advised him to undergo training offered by it. “The incident in Kottayam where Vava Suresh got bitten by a snake was unfortunate.
We accept that he is an experienced snake catcher, but we would advise him to undergo the forest department’s training for snake catchers. Only people who complete the course and holds a certificate are authorised to catch a snake.
A person catching snake without authorisation can be punished under the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972,” Arippa State Forest Training Institute deputy director Y Mohammed Anwar told TNIE. The forest department had launched the training programme in August 2020 following a spike in demand for snake catchers after the 2018 flood.
As per the guidelines, people in the age group of 21-65 years are eligible to attend the one-day snake-handling training. While the certificate is valid for five years, the assistant conservator of forest in charge of each district can cancel it if the snake handler is found to be involving in unethical practices.
The forest department has trained 1,650 people till date of whom 928 work as volunteers in snake handling. The volunteers who suffer snakebite will get up to Rs 1 lakh towards hospital expenses. In case of death, the dependants will get Rs 2 lakh compensation.
Abhayam society to build house for Vava
Kottayam: The CPM-led Abhayam Charitable Society in Kottayam will construct a house for snake catcher Vava Suresh. This was announced by V N Vasavan, Minister for Cooperation and Registration, on his Facebook page on Monday. “Vava Suresh returned home happily after treatment at Kottayam Medical College Hospital.
After Suresh was rushed to the hospital, the biggest demand from his friends was to build him a house. Though several persons had earlier offered to construct a house for him, he politely declined such proposals. But when I spoke to Suresh about this, he replied that ‘it was up to you, sir’,” Vasavan wrote on FB. When mediapersons asked him about this later, Suresh said he had accepted the offer.
“Several people had made the offer earlier. But this time, I am unable to reject it. If I reject it again, people will say that I am arrogant,” he said. The house will be built on the land owned by Suresh’s mother in Thiruvananthapuram.
No. of snakes caught by forest dept
2021
6,020
January 2022
711
Spectacled cobra: 408
Rat snake: 101
Russell’s viper: 71
Indian rock python: 70
Montane trinket snake: 26
Others: 35