Odisha takes steps to minimise snakebite deaths

The State has lost 5,964 people to snakebite in the past seven years since 2015-16

As Odisha loses more human lives to snakebites than other natural disasters such as cyclone and flood, the State government has decided to come up with Standard Operating Procedures and institutional capacity building to deal with the menace.

Special Relief Commissioner P. K Jena has convened a meeting of experts drawn from World Bank, Zoological Survey of India, Assam, Karnataka and Kerala soliciting their views to minimise snakebite deaths.

The State has lost 5,964 lives in snakebite since 2015-16 with the average annual deaths exceeding 800, making it one of the most snakebite-prone States in India. In 2015, Odisha was first in the country to declare snakebite a State-specific disaster.

“Experts emphasised on raising awareness among people about snakes. Greater awareness about the reptile will lead to behavioural change and help people minimise casualties around them,” said Padmanabha Behera, Joint Special Relief Commissioner.

Mr. Behera said, “the government is keen to build health infrastructure keeping the high snakebite deaths in Odisha in mind. There was proposal to establish a dedicated ward with trained manpower and anti-venom drugs in every hospital like special wards created to deal with sunstroke cases during summer season.”

The high-level meeting also underscored the need for creating village-level snake rescuers in order to reduce man-reptile conflict.