In yet another instance of superstition still prevailing in rural areas of the State, a 45-year-old man of Asanajhar village under Korei block in Jajpur district, who was bitten by a snake, was taken to a temple instead of a hospital by his family members on Thursday.
Ramakant Nayak of the village had gone to his farmland in the morning when a snake bit him. While he rushed back towards his house, he lost consciousness and fainted on the ground.
Some locals called up an ambulance to admit him in a hospital. But when the ambulance reached, Nayak’s family refused to take him to hospital and took him to a nearby Shiva temple to prostrate him before the deity for his recovery. After waiting for over an hour, the ambulance drove back.
Even though locals insisted on the family members to take the snakebite victim to a hospital, the latter did not pay any heed to their advice. The whole family were prostrating inside the temple till the last reports came in.