Exactly a month after getting discharged from Medical College Hospital in Kottayam, Kerala's popular snake catcher Vava Suresh is back in the game. He is reported to have rescued a cobra snake from inside a bike at Alappuzha’s Charummoodu, on March 6, Sunday night. He was discharged last month, on February 7, after undergoing treatment for a serious snakebite.
The cobra in Alappuzha had been sitting inside the bike for around five hours when Suresh was called to the spot. He arrived at 8.30 pm and returned with the cobra in a plastic bottle. A video shows many passers-by had gathered around him to watch him catch the snake.
Vava Suresh was admitted in a critical condition to the hospital on January 31 after being bitten by a snake at Kurichy in Kottayam district. He was bitten by the snake when he had gone to a local resident’s home in Kurichy, after the resident spotted a cobra in his house compound.
A video of the incident, which had gone viral, showed that Suresh was trying to place the snake inside a gunny bag by holding it upside down by its tail. However, the video shows the snake suddenly biting him on his right thigh. Suresh was taken to hospital after he fell unconscious. His condition was critical for a couple of days and he was also on ventilator support. He was discharged after eight days of treatment.
Since then, Vava had been at the centre of a debate over the ethics and methods of snake catching. While some have slammed Suresh for not adopting scientific methods in snake catching, some others voiced support of him, saying that he has helped save the lives of many people.
Vava Suresh, after getting discharged from the hospital, also alleged that an official of the Forest Department has been asking people not to call him to catch snakes. "I won’t say his name. Now, I will be more careful (about snake catching). But I will continue snake catching till my death," he added.