Every day, between 30 and 40 people make frantic calls to a man named Sanjeev. Most of them are screaming their lungs out for someone to turn up and save their lives from the snake that’s slithered into their houses. This is in Bengaluru by the way, just from the Whitefield area.
In recognition of this, residents’ group Whitefield Rising organized a workshop on what to do when (not if) a snake turned out to be an uninvited guest in your house.
To an expectant crowd looking for answers to cope up with the rising number of instances where snakes land up on their doorstep, BBMP snake expert Sanjeev’s three-hour long session on Saturday came as a blessing in disguise. With experience of over 11 years in snake rescuing, Sanjay did send them back with some peace and a plan of what to do should the scenario arise.
"Primarily, block the entry points for snakes, such as hanging branches, pipes and open garbage bins. Denying food and shelter are the subsequent steps. Which means manage garbage in a way that reduces rats in the house," he said.
Pointing out that only 3% of the population would think about rescuing the snake and not whack it the moment it is spotted in the house, he said that there needs to be personal practices in one’s lifestyle to co-exist with snakes.
Just like every other issues that Bengaluru faces, Sanjeev attributed urbanization as the reason for the increasing number of snakes in the city.
Pradip Thaker, volunteer of Whitefield Rising said that his neighborhood reports close to ten cases daily, as there are plenty of vacant spaces in the neighbourhood.
Sanjeev also pointed that killing one snake that lands up in your house does not guarantee that a second one will not crawl into the house the very next day, as long as rats are not kept at bay. He reasoned that while residents can resort to measures to curb snakes from entering their homes, they cannot claim their gardens to be their living space.