Timely advice: Foresters spreading awareness on first aid in case of snakebites among farmers on the Diviseema Island in Krishna district. | Photo Credit: T_APPALANAIDU more-in The Wildlife department has asked the district authorities to submit a report on the killing of snakes in Diviseema island since August 24. The direction is in response to the article ‘Exercise to rid Diviseema island of snakes begins’ published in The Hindu on August 29. A special team of snake catchers was deployed by the district authorities to catch the snakes in the villages in the wake of the rising number of the bite cases in August. Koduru MDO B. Venkateswara Reddy confirmed that 23 poisonous snakes had been killed and 47 released on the outskirts of the three villages — Viswanathapalli, Pittallanka and V. Kothapalem in Koduru mandal — between August 24 and 29. “Krishna Collector [B. Lakshmikantam] and the authorities monitoring the exercise have been informed about the conservatory measures of snakes. The killings violate the Wildlife Protection Act 1972,” Chief Wildlife Warden D. Nalini Mohan said. Assistant Conservator of Forests (Eluru Wildlife Division) N. Ramachandra Rao said the Koduru mandal authorities had been asked to submit a report on the number of snakes killed and the ones caught. “The district authorities must catch the snakes only with prior approval from the Forest department. Killing is not allowed. It is believed that the snakes killed recently fall in the Schedule-III of the Wildlife Conservation Act 1972,” said Mr. Ramachandra Rao. Mr. Lakshmikantam has directed the officials concerned not to kill any snake in the island.

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