Snake helpline: Letter to the Vice-Chancellor, Dr Ashok Sarial
Respected Vice-Chancellor Dr Sarial ji,
At the very outset I would like
to compliment and commend you for your able stewardship and ensuring smooth and efficient running of the
University. I say this not just from a rather narrow
viewpoint that you have so far ensured timely and regular disbursement of wages/pension to us but also because during your tenure the
University has been in the news for all the good reasons and has not
been bogged down by unseemly and unhealthy controversies.
That said, I would like to come
to the primary objective of my addressing you this communication. This relates
to a public issue where the University can provide a direly needed service.
As you yourself might be quite
aware, during the summers, particularly when the monsoon is at its peak, the
number of man-snake encounters touches an all-time high. Innumerable cases of
snake bites with quite a good number of them leading to deaths become recurring
news in the media. The deaths are due to ignorance about and delay in obtaining
immediate first aid, superstitious
beliefs leading to unscientific quick-fix measures at the local level instead
of rushing to the hospital and so on. What is more, the snake capturers have a
field day exploiting the fear and panic aroused by the sudden appearance of a
snake in or around a house and charging huge amounts of money for snake
capture. I personally know of a case in Palampur a few years back when a snake
sneaked into the closed courtyard of a prominent local resident. At once a snake capturer
was summoned from a distant place who charged a tidy and incredible 40,000 rupees and some
additional money for the “मणि” too, which I know for sure, doesn’t actually
exist except in mythological stories and in the imagination of people!
It is in this context that I
solicit your kind help. I know it for a fact that earlier the Veterinary
College of our University had put in place a ‘snake helpline’ with a phone
number to contact in case of a snake making an appearance in or around any
household. A team of bright and brilliant PG students lead by public-spirited
faculty members were handling the helpline. Despite constraints and limited means, it was providing excellent help and
support to the people of the area. However, sadly, as of now, this helpline has
become defunct and doesn’t exist anymore.
Sir, if through your kind
initiative, this helpline could be revived, it would serve a great social
purpose. If ready help is thus made available, it would help reduce snake bite
cases and mitigate the suffering and exploitation of people. Further, it would
also have a conservational value as many snakes even if non-venomous that are
killed simply out of scare and panic, would then be saved by the
capture-release strategy such a helpline team would obviously follow.
For this to happen, some Vet students could perhaps be sent to herpetology centres in the country for proper
training on a regular basis and it could also be made a part of course
curriculum.
Personally, I strongly feel that the
academic institutes - such as the prestigious Agricultural University of ours - besides concentrating on the prescribed objectives in the fields of teaching,
research and extension education etc (which it is executing with dedication and commitment) must also have some local social focus as well. By
this I mean that instead of existing in a kind of academic cacoon, the
institutes should utilize their physical and human resources for addressing the
local environmental, conservational and public issues of the area also, to the
extent possible. Naturally therefore, a snake helpline would be a welcome step in
that direction which could perhaps be expanded to also include monkeys, stray
dogs and cattle later on with active public participation.
I am sure Sir, that being a
public-spirited person that you are, you will kindly give due consideration to
my humble submission above. And I am very sure that with your kind efforts we shall soon have an active and effective ‘snake helpline’ in place, for which, needless to say, we all shall feel
immensely grateful to you.
With best wishes and regards,
With warm regards,
Subhash Sharma With warm regards,
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| Sun set at Palampur |
Gudiya Rape Case: What a shame!
The 'Gudiya Rape Case' makes me hang my head in total shame
As I pray for peace and justice with frozen tears and heart aflame
Can we humans be so depraved, so brutal and so violent?
I shudder and squirm with moans and cries intense but silent
Even our gods above writhe in horror and shed many a tear
And the blood-soaked Mother Earth shakes with rage and fear
"We made you in our own image", the gods loudly yell,
"Curse on you to descend to such depths of stinking hell."
Even our gods above writhe in horror and shed many a tear
And the blood-soaked Mother Earth shakes with rage and fear
"We made you in our own image", the gods loudly yell,
"Curse on you to descend to such depths of stinking hell."
Let all Gudiyas sing and smile, and dream and dance
Let's make this world a home of love where hatred has no chance
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