Cobra disrupts Orissa assembly proceedings

A cobra,spotted near the desk of Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik inside the state assembly,delayed the commencement of proceedings in the House on Thursday,even as snake catchers and a sniffer dog were pressed into service to trace the venomous reptile. Personnel,who had entered the House for cleaning operations,spotted the serpent and raised an alarm. As panic spread,more personnel rushed into the House,while snake catchers were summoned,official sources said.

However,the cobra disappeared and a search was launched to track the reptile down. Wildlife personnel and a police sniffer dog were also pressed into service to trace the snake,they said. Patnaik and Leader of the Opposition kept on sitting on their chairs but other members stood up. Speaker Pradip Kumar Amat then adjourned the house for an hour which was scheduled to begin at 10.30 am.

The building was sealed by security personnel and Shubhendu Mallick of the snake helpline was called.

Meanwhile,the cobra slithered under the thick carpets,even as the search team continued with their operation. As soon as the House reassembled,it was again adjourned till 3 pm. Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh said it the incident only exemplified how the assembly complex was being maintained.

However,Parliamentary affairs minister Raghunath Mohanty disagreed with his colleague’s view. “It is an one-off incident. It has been raining heavily for the last few days and the snake might have somehow entered the house”,he said. In a similar incident,a cobra was caught in the state secretariat building near the assembly complex barely two weeks ago.