Panic struck at Angulai village under Kendrapada Sadar police station as nearly 40 poisonous snakes were rescued on Sunday from a house. The villagers sounded an alarm and the snake helpline personnel were called for help.
According to sources, the vipers were moving in a store room of asbestos roof of one Bhramarabar Swain. The house is surrounded by agriculture fields. Swain used to keep house construction materials on that house along with some asbestos sheets. On Sunday, he went to bring the asbestos sheets to lay them on his newly constructed house.
Swain stumbled upon several poisonous snakes taking shelter in a corner and between the gaps of the asbestos sheets. Panicked, Swain alerted the villagers nearby and gave a call to the snake helpline personnel of Bagada.
When the news spread in the locality, a mad rush was seen on the spot. The villagers feared to drive the vipers away from the store house. One Prafulla Swain, a trained snake helpline personnel of Bagada along with his assistant, rescued the snakes from the house.
According to Praffula, he managed to nab more than 25 vipers with help of a snake catching stick and clippers and kept the rescued vipers in a water drum.
The poisonous vipers included cobra, krait, banded krait, rat snake, painted snake, water snake, and russels viper. Most of the snakes were more than two feet long. Many poisonous snakes managed to escape from the house towards the agriculture fields during the rescue operation, informed Prafulla.
“I rescued the snake and later, released the vipers at a forest near Ramnagar under Mahakalapada forest range. The reason behind the congregation of the reptiles may be because the house had remained unused for last some days and the ongoing rainy season,” said Prafulla.