Rajkot: see a snake in your backyard? You have two options – either let it serve or you stay far from reach because rescue operations now may need more time than before.
Thanks to the Ministry of Forestry, his new guidelines issued on March 30 this year to catch a snake is to subdue volunteers from doing their work.
In fact, the department’s intention to save snakes is only biting volunteers and the general public.
There are around 2,000 volunteers involved in this activity throughout the state and many of them are part of NGOs.
In such a situation before, every time the call went to NGOs, volunteers rushed to the place and managed to save reptiles in the minimum time to avoid confrontation with humans or cause damage to their own safety.
However, new guidelines mandated that the call must go through the Warden Wildlife Forest Taluka, which will send the savior of the bona fide to do the work, thus taking a lot of time in the process and endanger life.
According to new rules, volunteers must register first, their names will be studied by each circle of the forest department and after that undergoing 15-day training by GEER Foundation before they get a photo ID card that they have to do rescue operations.
They also need to have life insurance protection Rs 10 lakh.
The source said the execution of this new guide was very slow, and it was except in Ahmedabad, there was no training that began anywhere.
Again, even if the Ministry of Forestry starts training in all districts immediately, it will take a minimum of more than a year to train everyone.
Snakes are found around human residences in areas such as Jamnagar, Porbandar, Junagadh, Amreli, Bhavnagar and in most South Gujarat.
Snakes are saved, 40 percent toxic, savior claims.
Cobra, India Krait, Russell’s Viper, Bamboo Pit Viper are some venomous species commonly found in Gujarat.
Over the past three decades and many more, the Lakhota Nature Club in Jamnagar has been involved in the saving of snakes and his team consisting of 42 savings saving around 300 snakes in a month.
These activities are carried out in coordination with the Ministry of Forestry and NGOs also provide rescue data to the department every year.
However, recently NGOs provide advertisements in a local newspaper stating that the work of the snake rescue has been stopped because of new government guidelines.
“If one of the members (NGOs) we found to do this work, it will be considered an activity against organization and their membership can be canceled,” said the ad.
It also complements the address of the local forest office for the general public to be contacted if necessary.
Previously, NGOs had whatsapp groups where people could make calls and get help in a few minutes.
President Suresh Bhatt TLD TOI, “We do this to avoid controversy and clashes with new guidelines.
We want the Forestry Department to execute these guidelines immediately and start training as soon as possible.” “It is impossible for the forestry department to attend each call and sanctucing snake.
General General calling us, not the Ministry of Forestry, “said Vikram Gadhvi, founder of the Gujarat Snake Conservation Society.
“If someone has to tell the department first and then will tell us, the entire procedure will consume valuable time that will increase the possibility of snakes or reptiles that are killed because of panic,” Gadhvi explained, adding that many individual savings are still doing risky jobs even though the guidelines .
These wildlife lovers do this to save reptiles from danger even at risk of being sued while waiting to get authorization, he said.
Gadhvi also sent a letter to the Minister of Chief last year demanding compensation for family members of rescue if there was a death of snakebite and also to provide free government care for volunteers who were injured in rescue operations.
“The government, without asking me, made the wrong interpretation of my advice.
They (authorities) have made life insurance cover RS 10 lakh mandatory for rescuers.
Volunteers placing their lives at risk and no insurance companies have a policy to cover the risks, “Gadhvi added.
Speaking with Toi, the head of the main forest conservator, Shyamal Tikadar, said, “There are certain confusion with guidelines.
We will finish it.”
Gujarat: strict rules put snake savior in place
