Mumbai: Snake rescuers have hands full at Kalyan societies

The Kalyan sarpa mitras or snake rescuers have had their hands full since. “We have a record of rescuing over 54 snakes in just a week after the fire. These include venomous snakes and non-venomous water snakes,” said Suhas Pawar (30), a sarpa mitra and wildlife rescuer from Kalyan. He added, “Generally, even in rainy days, we had a record of rescuing around 30 snakes a month. But 54 snakes in a week was unusual.”

According to residents around the dumping ground, snakes and rodents had surfaced because of the fire. “While the fire was still raging, the smoke and stench bothered us but we were never prepared for what came next. There were snakes in the compound and even inside our houses. It was really scary,” Kishori Bapat (34) said.

Datta Bombe (54), a snake rescuer in Kalyan said, “Snakes live at dumping grounds everywhere. We used to get calls from slum dwellers even when there was no fire. But the fire aggravated the reptiles and they started moving towards houses,” he said.

The sarpa mitras have been working round the clock with their teams. “We even trained the fire brigade men, so that if there are instances when we can’t reach fast enough, they can handle the situation. After the fire, now that the rains have started, snakes are found everywhere,” Pawar said.

According to Pawar and Bombe, the problem boils down to segregation of waste. “Since the waste is not properly segregated, rats populate the dumping ground. Because of them, snakes come in abundance and because of that birds of prey frequent the dumps. It is the food chain that starts because of improper segregation of waste. Anything that disturbs that ecosystem is bound to affect humans living nearby,” Pawar said. He added, “If the wet waste is properly disposed of, this can be stopped.”

Residents of nearby areas have taken precautions because of snakes frequenting their neighborhood. “We have put nets over all openings in and around our houses. We have tried to cover all drains. Children are not allowed to play after dark in poorly lit areas,” said Hemant Bajaj, a resident of a housing society behind the ground.

The fire brigade and the municipal corporation workers believe that the problem exists across all dumping grounds. “The problem of snakes is not just for Kalyan but exists everywhere. We are trying to avoid human animal conflict by raising awareness. There haven’t been any cases of snake bites yet. Now the number of snakes found daily are also dwindling,” a fireman manning the outpost near the dumping ground said.

Meanwhile, the sarpa mitras are still on their toes. “I have trained several boys who go far and wide to rescue snakes for almost nothing. I am right now on my way to a rescue. The point is to not let nature suffer,” Bombe said.

The municipal authorities, which claimed that the fire in March was caused by methane, had advised the residents to relocate, which left most of them fuming. The ground is now being used again, and a sprinkler system is going to be installed to prevent fires, the authorities claimed.