A farmer has died after being bitten by a venomous Russell's viper on a remote char in North Channel, Faridpur Sadar upazila.

He died while under treatment at Faridpur's Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical College Hospital at around 11am on Friday (21 June).

The farmer was Hossain Bepari, 51, son of Pareshulla Bepari of ward 2 of North Channel union in Sadar upazila.

Confirming the death, Helal Uddin, a former union parishad member for ward 2, said Hossain Bepari was bitten by a Russell's viper around midday on Thursday (20 June). He was taken across the Padma by trawler to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical College Hospital in Faridpur. When his condition did not improve, preparations were made to take him to Dhaka, but he died on Friday morning before that.

Meanwhile, in neighbouring Dikrirchar union, villagers saw two Russell's vipers on Thursday and Friday and beat them to death.

On Friday morning Murad Molla, 45, son of Tota Molla, saw a Russell's viper while working in a field in Aijuddin Matubbarer Dangi village of Dikrirchar union in Sadar upazila.

"I spotted the snake while working in the peanut field in the morning. Then I fetched a stick and killed it with three or four blows," Murad Molla said. He said that the day before (Thursday), Yusuf, son of Harun Sheikh of the same village, had beaten another Russell's viper to death.

Anwar Hossain Abu Fakir, president of the local union Awami League, said: "The incident is true. The district Awami League president and general secretary were contacted by mobile phone about this. They have given assurances that the announced reward money will be paid."

Repeated calls to the mobile phone of Faridpur district Awami League general secretary Shah Md Ishtiaq Arif went unanswered.

But district Awami League publicity secretary Niaz Zaman Sajib told Jago News: "The reward was announced by the district Awami League yesterday. Our president is currently in Dhaka. If the district Awami League general secretary is contacted about the Russell's viper, he (the person who killed it) will get the reward."

Faridpur divisional forest officer Golam Quddus Bhuiyan said killing any wild animal is a punishable offence. After Russell's viper had disappeared from the country, it has been seen again since 2014. The snake breeds fast: a single mother gives birth to 60 to 70 young at a time, and almost all of them survive. It usually lives in char areas and feeds on frogs and rats.

He added: "If someone encouraged by this reward goes to catch or kill a Russell's viper and dies of a bite, who will take responsibility? If you check with various hospitals, you will see the number of deaths is not significant. Far more people die in road accidents every day than of snakebite."

Local sources said a preparatory meeting for the Awami League's 75th founding anniversary was held on Thursday afternoon at the district Awami League office at Russell Square in the town. There, district Awami League general secretary Shah Md Ishtiaq Arif said in his speech that anyone who could kill a Russell's viper in the Faridpur Kotwali area would be given a reward of Tk 50,000.

He also said: "This reward will be given for every Russell's viper killed. However many people kill however many snakes, Tk 50,000 will be given per snake. This announcement has been made in an effort to protect people from this snake."

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.