A one-man mobile snake cell
By Nonika Singh

COME monsoon and romance is in the air. But it’s also the time when serpents make their presence felt. As rain fills their ‘guest house’ snakes live in rat holes or termite mounds — they shift out to inhabit mother earth. As per Hindu mythology, snakes are a revered species, still the fear that these slimy creatures evoke in human mortals is unparalleled. Though the lush green vegetation is their natural habitat and Chandigarh is not really a snake-infested region, these limbless reptiles could well slither on to concrete areas, in the middle of your living room. A closed encounter with the wily serpent? Your worst waking nightmare could well translate into reality.

But don’t panic! So advises Captain Suresh Sharma, a man devoted to the cause of environment and who lives by the adage, "The wild life of today is not ours to dispose of as we please. We have it in trust and must account for it to those who come after us". Sharma’s advice is not mere mouthing of oft-repeated platitude. A one-man mobile snake cell, he promises to be right there to tackle the monster head-on, provided you can page him in time.

(His numbers are listed with the police control headquarters too). In a little over a month (the snake cell came into inception on June 5, World Environment Day), he has already picked up 10 snakes. A majority of these, of course, were discovered in areas that encompassed lush green foliage like the PEC and G.C.G. campuses.

Suresh Sharma has received calls from city residents and found snakes in unimaginable places like kitchen, bedroom... He says that once a snake enters the house, there is no way of knowing where it could be hiding — you might be literally sitting on it. So the only way out, he cautions, is to deny access to these reptiles by keeping doors and windows shut, plugging holes in coolers and more significantly cutting hedges and bushes to a manageable size.

Snakes are divided into some 2700 species. Their sizes range from the pencil-long African thread snake to the 6-metre-long pythone and anaconda. In India, cobra, Russel’s viper, kraits and sawscale viper are the dreaded species. Shockingly in Chandigarh, out of the 10 snakes (later released into Shivalik Hills) four were kraits, one of the deadliest snakes in Asia. The commonly found species in Chandigarh are Russel’s viper, cobra, krait, Gunther’s racer ratsnake, striped keelback and checkered keelback.

However, no estimates are available about the snake population. Sharma recalls, "Before starting the snake cell, my friends jeeringly told me there were no snakes in Chandigarh. And even I am astonished by the number of calls (35), I have received. I guess earlier there was no centralised body where information on snakes could seep in."

In all likelihood, people depended upon snake charmers who for centuries have only fuelled the myths and added on to the mystique of these creatures with lethal fangs.

Snakes do not have the sense of hearing but pick up vibrations. This is a well-known scientific fact. Yet how many of us know that snake’s vision is two-dimensional and monochromatic. In a layman’s language it implies that a snake can’t discern between a flat board surface and a human being. It identifies its prey/enemy by their movement (hence the snake’s much hyped rhythmic dance to the constantly moving flute). The best defence against a snake attack would be to ‘freeze dead in your tracks’. But even if you flee the scene, a snake can’t chase you like a dog for it has little idea of the distance separating you and his fangs because of its limited two-dimensional vision. Eightyfive per cent of the snakes found are non-poisonous, yet they kill more than 20,000 people a year.

Sharma informs , "No snake wears a crown. Though cobra raises its hood, krait is bluish-black in colour. Russel’s viper hisses like a pressure cooker, the common man can’t differentiate between a poisonous and a non-venomous snake, unless he is exposed to the species through live demonstration and orientation programmes."

Herein the man who said goodbye to uniform to begin his environmental crusade is dismayed with the government response, its lackadaisical approach and its indifference towards some of his commercially viable projects. Unlike other NGOs, he believes in self-financing and came out with an innovative venture, Ecosense Souvenirs. Nevertheless, he is handicapped by the paucity of funds. So many of the snake cell’s proposed objectives — first aid cell, distribution of literature, interpretation centre, workshop for doctors etc. remain on paper.

Sharma rues, "So many of us are oblivious to the fact that anti-venom serum is available in the market." In the future he plans to organise street shows to educate the masses.

Indeed, what was it that prompted him to turn into a wanderer, picking up snakes from people’s homes, especially when there are no financial incentives involved? He reveals, "My ultimate aim is to bring about environmental awareness. I know that human beings are selfish. If I stand on a pulpit and start a discourse, no one would listen to me. However, if I reach out to people in their hour of need, they will realise I am not a hoax. They will sit up and pay attention."

Whether he succeeds in his mission — a war against quelling ophidiphobia (fear of snakes) — and makes people realise the beauty of these ‘works of art’, the future will tell us. But people can be reminded that snake is an important link in the ecological chain of balance. Every snake eats two to three rats in three months or so. As each rat devours roughly 14 kg of food grain every year, the significance and direct bearing of snakes on human life cannot be undermined. So our revulsion and fear notwithstanding, we just can’t do without snakes.

First aid steps:

1. Tie a cloth tourniquet or band (but not a thin rope or rubber) above the bite, but not too tightly. If bite is on the hand, tie it on the upper arm. If on the foot/leg, tie it on the thigh.

2. Wound should be gently cleaned with antiseptic or simply with water and soap. Avoid potassium permanganate.

3. Do not make incisions or cuts around the wound. Let a skilled doctor handle it.

4. Last but not the least — anti-venom serum is the only cure.

5. Rush to a hospital.

6. In the event of sighting a snake, call pager 9612-6401.