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'Snake helpline' kept busy
24/06/2006 13:17 - (SA)
New Delhi - A "snake helpline" in India's eastern Orissa state has been inundated with calls from concerned residents finding uninvited reptilian guests in their homes, a news report said on Saturday.
Residents of state capital Bhubaneshwar are making distress calls to the helpline after finding the creatures in their bedrooms, kitchens and storerooms and even in their washing machines and shoes, the Times of India reported.
With the advent of monsoon rains, the snakes have been crawling out of their holes in search of dry places and end up in homes as unwelcome guests. Monsoons in India usually last from June to September.
Subhendu Mallik, who runs the snake helpline, told the paper that his phones have been ringing continuously with requests for his services.
He was busy catching 10 cobras from the Exhibition Grounds in the city, when he got a call from a resident who wanted a cobra out of his kitchen. Another man nearly fainted when he found five cobras in his washing machine, he said.
"During the rainy season, scores of snakelings fan out and may go even into your bedroom. People should keep their houses clean to avoid sleeping with a snake," Malik was quoted as saying, obviously happy about the business the reptilian menace has got him.
Since its inception three years ago, the helpline has relocated over 3 000 snakes, including cobras, vipers, kraits, ratsnakes and wolfsnakes.
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