Instead of hibernating throughout the winter, an unusual number of snakes are tormenting a village in Boalkhali upazila of Chattogram for the past two months.
The number of snakes seems to be strangely high considering the season, claimed the inhabitants of the Saroatali village in Boalkhali, reports BBC.
“You’ll encounter snakes wherever you go. Inside our homes, on our beds, ponds, roads- nowhere is safe. Varieties of snakes cross in front of my bike when I’m on my way home,” said Rony Chowdhury, a resident of the village.
Another villager, Mira Aich said on Friday she was hospitalized for eight days after being bitten by a venomous snake while working on her field.
The villagers are trying various methods to deter the snakes from their homes, but nothing seems to work.
At least 580,000 people experience snake bites each year during the rainy season, and around 6,000 people succumb to their deaths, according to a 2019 report by the World Health Organization.
Snake bite incidents increase during the months of May, June and July, but it is uncommon for snakes to show up in such high numbers during winter.
However, the inhabitants of the villagers have come up with a possible explanation for the phenomenon.
An ancient canal in the village is going through restoration for around a year and the dense bush around it is being cleaned up, said Romen Das Gupta, a journalist hailing from the village. Apparently, the strange snake infestation was triggered by this clean-up.
Chattogram Medical College Venom Research Centre Snake Specialist Borhan Biswas Romon agreed with the villagers. Snakes are dispersing throughout the village because their natural habitat is being encroached upon, he said.
The matter is being looked into, Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Nazmun Nahar told BBC.
