The very word "snake" makes people panic, and if one is actually seen, there is no relief until it is killed. To most people a snake means fear and terror. Yet Monir Hossain works to protect snakes, putting his own life at risk.

In the past two years he has released 86 snakes and treated five. Two snakes are currently under his care, and they will be released with the help of the Madaripur forest department once they recover.

Monir Hossain, 28, is the son of Abdul Jalil and Fulmoti Begum of Dhanarchar Purbapara in Jadurchar union, Rowmari upazila, Kurigram. He is the seventh of six brothers and five sisters. He lives in a rented house in the No. 2 Shakuni area of Madaripur town, where he has lived since 2017 for his studies. He completed his honours degree at Madaripur Government College and his master's in physics last year.

Monir Hossain first took special training on snakes in Panchagarh and later from the Barishal forest department. He also trained through a voluntary organisation called Wildlife and Snake Rescue Team in Bangladesh, and then began rescuing snakes as a member.

For two years he has worked quietly, largely shunning publicity. Day or night, through storm and rain, he rushes out whenever he gets a call about a snake. He rescues the snake unharmed and releases it on the forest department's advice. If a snake has been beaten and injured, he arranges treatment on the department's advice, and it is released once it recovers.

Over two years he has released 86 snakes of various kinds, including khoiya gokhra, bet achra, darash and kal nagini, from Madaripur, Shariatpur, Chandpur, Gopalganj, Khulna, Faridpur, Munshiganj, Bagerhat, Pirojpur, Barishal, Patuakhali and Kurigram.

Once he learned that a python was ill in the keeping of a snake charmer in Rowmari, Kurigram. He treated it, nursed it back to health and released it.

He is now treating two darash snakes rescued from the Jajira area of Panchkhola union in Madaripur Sadar upazila and from the southern bank of Shakuni Lake in the town.

So far he has treated five snakes. The two now in his care were beaten and wounded by local people. He cleans their wounds and applies ointment regularly, keeping them in two separate plastic boxes. Once healed, they will be released in an uninhabited place on the advice of the Madaripur forest department.

In the past week the young man rescued a large darash from the Jajira area of Panchkhola union in Madaripur Sadar, a darash from the southern bank of Shakuni Lake in the town, and, most recently, a kal nagini from Jajira in Shariatpur district. Two of them are being treated and one has been released.

Monir Hossain told Jagonews: "Snakes do not harm people. Most snakes in Bangladesh have no venom. It is a neglected animal in our society, surrounded by many superstitions."

On their usefulness, he said: "One darash snake protects Tk 1 lakh worth of a farmer's crops from rats in a year. Yet this helpful animal is beaten to death purely out of fear and panic. So I am working to raise awareness among people."

"When a snake is found in a home or a settled area, it is rescued and released through the forest department. I want the fear of snakes to leave every person in society, and the superstitions about snakes to go too. Let everyone know and understand that nature benefits not from killing snakes but from saving them," he said.

Rahat Talukder Sohan, a computer teacher at Madaripur Public School and College, said: "Monir is my friend. He has been working with snakes for a long time. Whenever he gets a call, he rushes there, rescues the snake and releases it. If a snake is ill, he arranges treatment. I often go along and help him myself."

Local resident Kamal Hossain said: "A few days ago I saw Monir rescue a snake from a house on the bank of Shakuni Lake. How frightening! Just hearing the word snake gives you goosebumps. And Monir catches snakes, releases them and even treats them. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes."

Tahmina Begum, a resident of the Shakuni area, said: "Snakes are frightening. My throat goes dry at the very name. And darash or jati snakes are very dangerous. We have heard from our grandparents that if you hurt one, it will cross seven seas to bite you. Yet Monir is treating those very snakes."

Md Jahangir Alam, a forest official at the Madaripur forest department, told Jagonews: "He has been rescuing and releasing snakes for a long time. Not only that, he treats injured snakes, though we in the forest department arrange the medicine. When someone calls us to report a snake, we call Monir Hossain. He goes there and rescues it, and it is then released in the right place."

"Snakes are really friends of nature, but many people beat them to death out of fear, which is not right. Monir has been trained in this, so he does the work skilfully," he said.

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