NILGIRIS: A 14-year-old boy was taking part in NSS activities when he saw a snake taking shelter behind the bushes of his school garden. Unlike many others who might have tried to harm the snake, N Sadiq Ali’s selfless act was to relocate it to a safe distance away from harm. His act of bravery got an ovation from his teachers and friends.
For many, Ali is a snake rescuer, while for some, he is an animal activist who was handling snakes at NH Road in the city where Irula community people used to visit for selling snake skin in 1971 (sale of snake is an offence after the central government introduced the Wildlife Protection Act in 1972). From an early age, his tender hands knew how to handle snakes with care and precision, showcasing his unique connection with nature.
“When my neighbours were frightened of snakes, Irular men gave snakes to me and I used to hold them with my bare hands without hurting the reptiles,” says Sadiq Ali, who considers tribal people as his gurus. The oldest snake rescuer of Tamil Nadu, Ali claims the tribal community taught him the technique to handle the reptiles and it is only because of their teachings that he can impart the same knowledge to the forest department
“I wanted to serve the nation by working in the Air Force. However, my father wanted me to take care of his business and asked me to study leather technology which was a three-year course in Chennai. I was not interested in continuing the job. I finally got close to what I liked doing when I got marriedto a woman from Nilgiris,” Sadiq Ali recalls. The 59-year-old snake rescuer was a member of the Nilgiris Wildlife and Environment Association (NWEA). Currently, he helps his father-in-law, who runs a hotel in the town. Sadiq Ali has also assisted the forest department in rescuing sloth bears, leopards, and wild elephants.
The activist has rescued thousands of snakes in his last 25 years. Ali says he is not the one to take the lone credit as his 12-member team has been doing the job for the welfare of snakes and people. “I believe that my team’s efforts have reduced snake bites cases by more than 20% in Tamil Nadu because of our awareness sessions in schools, colleges, and villages,” Ali says with a smile.
Sadiq formed the Wildlife and Nature Conservation Trust (WNCT) in 2012, aimed to assist the Tamil Nadu Forest Department in mitigating the man-animal conflict and assist the forest department in rescuing wild animals in distress.
Sadiq Ali and his friend S Saravanan also designed a lightweight cage at his manufacturing unit in Salem after noticing the staff facing difficulties in carrying a heavy cage on their shoulder while relocating a tiger to a safer place. At that time, a man-eater tiger had killed three people in Kotagiri near Ooty in Nilgiris. Apart from rescues, Sadiq and his team also provide information about the suspects who illegally sell leopard skin and tiger skin and hold the creatures captive.
Sadiq Ali agreed that the increase in wildlife population in the last decade is one of the reasons behind the spike in man-animal conflict in Tamil Nadu, especially in Coimbatore, Nilgiris, and Erode.“The state government should build more toilets for the people living along the forest boundaries to avoid deaths due to wild animal attack as most of the human deaths occur when people attend nature’s call in the open,” said Sadiq.
He pointed out that the Tamil Nadu Forest Department should be equipped with modern gadgets for rescuing wild animals and should independently work like the police department to reduce the confilct.
(Edited by Srestha Choudhury)