SARPA SATHI
WHAT IS 'SARPA SATHI'
Sarpa Sathi is an initiative to reduce the Human Snake conflict throughout India. Back in 2019, this project was initiated by WNE nationally. Under this project, our snake rescuers regularly intervene whenever a snake come inside any house or inside any human settlement (outside its natural habitat). Even today there is a huge misconception on the snakes and we have observed educated people also believe in many superstitions on the snake and snake bite issues. This helps the snake traders to deceive the local people and do their business without facing any hazards. Our Sarpa Sathi's intervene from rescuing the snakes to educating and spreading awareness in the locality with directly involved with the forest department and other concerned governmental authorities.
A 11 feet Indian Rock Python Rescued saved from human agitation after it ate a villager's 2 days old goat.
WHY IS IT IS NECESSARY?
Lack of Research Work
Though the impact of human-snake conflict is terrible in India, there is very little research has been done on snakes. There is very least data on the snakes around India. But unless we have proper data of the snake diversity and its behavior, we cannot mitigate the human-snake conflict issue. Moreover, there is a significant challenge in manufacturing of antivenoms is the preparation of the correct immunogens (snake venoms) due to multiple factors. The reason behind this lack of research work is the unscientific ways of snake rescues along with no proper data maintenance which actually created many confusions among the distribution of various snake species.
Human-Snake Conflict
Human-Snake Conflict is one of the most widely spreaded issue in India as well as in the World. As per the report of WHO, In Asia up to 2 million people are envenomed by snakes each year. Envenoming affects women, children and farmers in poor rural communities in low- and middle-income countries. Though in India the actual number of snake bite case is unknown, as per the National Health Profile, in the year 2019, the case of snake bite occurs 171,800 out of which 1700 died of the same. This can give us an idea of what is the actual situation in India regarding the snake bite issue. To reduce the case of snake bite it is important to reduce the conflict in the human settlement as almost all of the cases occurs in the human settlement.
Superstitious on Snakes
In India, there is a huge number and types of superstitious beliefs over the snakes and snake bite issues. This results in various kind of snake related misconception among the common people. Very interestingly this kind of misconception and superstitious beliefs is not only seen among the comparatively less educated people but also observed among highly educated people along with governmental school teachers (both retired and currently working). This helps some people to organize fraud/ill practices on the snake bite management and snake handling. Moreover, only because of the superstitious beliefs, many time people take the snake bite victims to Ojha, Gunin or Tantric but not to any nearby hospital.
Lack of Awareness
The awareness on the snake and snake bite management is very poor in India. An awareness with a scientific view is very important throughout the country. Otherwise, it is almost impossible to remove the superstitious beliefs on the snakes. Moreover, even the researchers do not have proper knowledge and training of the snake handling. So, a genuine awareness policy along with proper education for the local rescuers also necessary. The lack of awareness on the snakes makes the local people to fear each and every snake which resulted the death of any snake, whenever it is found. So, venomous and non-vemonous, both snakes got beaten to death. This actually creates huge imbalance in our biodiversity .
Our Sarpa Sathi teammates are rescuing snakes from human settlements throughout India. All the rescued snakes are properly examined to ensure if any injury or specific issue happened with the individual. Later after necessary first aid treatment (if needed) the teammates released the snakes in the wild.
WHAT WNE IS DOING
Rescue & Relocation
Whenever snakes comes into the human settlement, our team always rescue the snakes and relocate it in the nearby forest patch. Our team is working relentlessly to mitigate the conflict and save the snakes and the human life. Our team members are properly trained and well equipped for handling the snakes and they take all the required precautions during the rescue and release work.
School Awareness
We organize regular basis school awareness programs in the schools of rural areas to spread awareness on the snakes. During these programs we also get many leads of Ojhas, Gunin or Tantric and we take necessary actions to stop their activities in and around the area with the help of the local administration.
Village Survey on Snake and Snake Bite to Understand Their Basic Knowledge on Snakes and Superstitious Belief on Them
Organizing School Awareness Campaign in South 24 Parganas, on Snake Bite Awareness
Research Work
We do focus on our research works under the project Sarpa Sathi. We focus on the snake distribution, habitat study, behavior study and other factors that are directly or indirectly related with the snakes. We have already published seven research papers under this project. And currently three more is under review for the publication. ​
Organize Training Program
We organize snake rescue training for the forest departmental staffs and other snake rescue enthusiasts. A properly trained rescuer always helps in handling situations during a rescue call and also carry out rescue works successfully.
Spread Awareness on the Science Behind Ojha or Gunins Activity in the Village Areas
Organizing Snake Handling Training for Forest Departmental Staffs
Rescuing Snakes in Pali District, Jawai Bandh, Rajasthan