KOZHIKODE: Gireesh. A.V is one of the three snake rescuers in the district who has been doing this odd but very helpful job. The onset of monsoon spells a busy time for this 46-year-old as his phone rings round the clock seeking help to catch the reptiles. “The job is highly dangerous and life threatening. I have to leave the house at odd hours for work. But there is little effort to reward us in the form of regularizing the job,” laments the man from Kottooly. He has been working under the Thamarasserry forest range office for the past five years on contract and the current monthly salary is below Rs 15,000. Besides, the department does not provide even a shoes while catching the venomous reptiles.
Gireesh claims that he has rescued more than 2000 cobras and thousands of pythons till date. “I was bitten by a cobra on the right hand two years ago. I was trying to catch it when it sneaked into a house near Kalarikkal temple. I was admitted in the hospital for four days,” he recalls. Besides, Gireesh takes classes for students and resident associations on snakes. “Different types of snakes, fangs and venom, snake distribution, categories, the superstitious beliefs etc are explained with a slide presentation,” he says.
Attracted to the world of reptiles by watching wildlife TV channels in his teens, he caught his first snake at the age of 30. “I have caught a dozen cobras in one day. The rescued reptiles are kept at the forest office at Mathottam and later released into the outer forests,” he elaborates. The earlier snake rescuers in the district, Velayudhan and Sajeevan, both died of snakebite and they too had a contract job despite years of service. “It is most unfortunate that the government shows no consideration although we are doing a job which no one dares to do. There is no future for my family if something happens to me,” he says. According to Gireesh, reptiles have increased over the years and in the city, the Malapparambu-Thondayad bypass is a hot spot for pythons.
