Snakes are commonly spotted in the area and the initiative aims to help people act fast in case of a snake bite.
Animal welfare organisations from Mumbai and Thane have joined hands to initiate a campaign called ‘Zero Bite’ on the Nag Panchami festival observed today, to reduce snake bite deaths in communities living in and around Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP).
The initiative comes close on the heels of an incident on July 11, when Yashodha Kadu, a 20-year-old resident of Jivachapada- a tribal hamlet inside Aarey, lost her life after being bitten by a Cobra, while she was sleeping on the floor of her mud house along with her six-month old baby.
A meeting was held last week, attended by representatives of various NGOs and experts, and it was decided to launch the campaign from a school at Aarey milk colony. “It has been decided that this initiative will not be limited to just creating awareness. We want to set up Emergency Response Teams (ERT) at every single tribal hamlet in Aarey for speedy transport and first aid to snakebite victims as well as strengthen the medical community around Aarey by providing them training in responding quickly to snake bite victims,” shared herpetologist Kedar Bhide who is the Founder President of the Reptile Rescue and Study Centre (RRSC). He is also mentoring the initiative and added that the Thane territorial forest is supporting the campaign.
Sunish Subramaniam, honorary wildlife warden, Mumbai and President PAWS-Mumbai said that given the fact that Aarey is a forest, snakes are commonly spotted and since there is plenty of poultry as well as rats around the tribal hamlets, they are often attracted to these houses.
“Under the campaign, teams will visit all the 28 tribal hamlets in Aarey and create awareness as well as provide information about basic do’s and don’t’s to avoid snake bites. There are also plans to visit schools and sensitise children about snakes. They need not kill them on simply spotting them, but must practice caution while walking or playing in the forest patches,” he said.
Speaking about the importance of ERT, Pawan Sharma, Wildlife Warden for Thane and founder of RAWW said that the team would be formed after picking up selected residents from every hamlet. “The ERT will be trained by experts on precautions to be taken to avoid snake bites in their hamlet, how to react if there are snake bite incidents etc. The teams will be taught basic first aid and ways to handle the patient and transport them to the hospital,” he informed.
Knowing fully well that doctors at the hospital have a very crucial role to play in saving the life of a snake bite victim, the team has also charted out plans to have training modules for the doctors. “We will be involving the nearest government hospitals, private nursing homes as well as general practitioners in and around Aarey and a team led by a medical practitioner expert in handling snake bite victims will train them on first aid and treatment protocols in case of snake bites as well as other animal emergencies,” informed Priyanka Kadam, founder of NGO Snakebite Healing and Education Society.
Researcher and naturalist Rajesh Sanap who has been documenting the biodiversity of Aarey and is also a part of the Zero Bite- Aarey campaign said that they have set a target of three months to make the ERT functional. “We are already in contact with tribal leaders from Aarey as well as active members from various hamlets and will be organizing a meeting soon for setting up ERT. This will be a community led programme and the idea is that once the Aarey chapter become fully functional, the same model will be replicated in areas like SGNP- Borivali, Yeoor and other locations,” he said.
Chief Conservator of Forest (CCF) for Thane Territorial, Sunil Limaye called the campaign the need of the hour said that it will help bring about a complete change in the manner people look at snakes.
Limaye said, “The tribals have been co-existing with snakes, but a conflict or fear of being bitten at times leads to angry mobs killing the snakes. The campaign will help empower the community to ensure that precious life is saved by taking the right steps at the right time.”
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
 "Indian rock python")
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}