After being bitten by a snake in Kushtia, a trader named Jahidul Islam Raja, 55, killed the venomous Russell's viper himself, put it in a bag and rushed to hospital. He is being treated in the medicine ward of Kushtia General Hospital.
Jahidul had gone fishing in the Gorai river as a hobby. At one point he fell asleep in a temporary shed on the sandbank beside the river. Suddenly something bit his right foot. Shining a torch, he saw a small black snake and killed it with a stick.
He put the dead snake in a bag and went straight to the 250-bed Kushtia General Hospital with it, where the doctor on duty identified it as a venomous Russell's viper.
Bitten while fishing on the Gorai
The incident happened at around 10pm on Tuesday (18 July) on the bank of the Gorai in the Jugia Battala area of Sadar upazila. The iron trader, named in the report as Jahidul Islam alias Raja, aged 54, was admitted to Kushtia General Hospital at around 11pm. He is the son of Samsul Alam of the Jugia Hatpara area of Kushtia Sadar upazila.
Speaking from hospital at midday on Wednesday (19 July), Jahidul said he had gone to the Gorai near his home at night with a net to fish, and fell asleep in the shed. Something suddenly bit his right foot; by torchlight he saw a small black snake and killed it with a stick. He tied his own leg, then called people cutting sand on the char, put the snake in a bag and rushed straight to hospital.
Tapas Kumar Sarkar, resident medical officer (RMO) of the 250-bed Kushtia General Hospital, said the Russell's viper was very small, but its belly was quite swollen. It is thought the snake had eaten something before biting, so it may not have had venom, he said. Jahidul has been given antivenom.
Russell's vipers on the rise
Environmental activist and social worker Shahabuddin Milon said the menace of venomous Russell's vipers has grown over the past few years in areas along the Gorai in Kushtia. His group has so far rescued at least 7 Russell's vipers from various places and released them in safe locations.
Claiming that the snakes are more of a menace during floods, he advised people living along the river to move about with care.
Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.
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