A writ petition has been filed seeking directions to pay compensation to family members of people killed by snakebite and to people bitten by snakes. Supreme Court lawyers Nazmul Hasan Rakib and Intekhab Ul Alam filed the public interest writ with the relevant High Court section on Wednesday (23 October).

The secretary of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, the director general of the Department of Environment and the chief conservator of forests of the Forest Department have been named as respondents.

The petitioners said the writ seeks compensation for families of snakebite victims and for people bitten by snakes, in order to protect biodiversity and the balance of the environment and to implement Article 18A of the Constitution of Bangladesh.

The petitioners said Article 18A of the Constitution concerns the protection and improvement of the environment and biodiversity: the state shall protect and improve the environment for present and future citizens and ensure the conservation and safety of natural resources, biodiversity, wetlands, forests and wildlife.

The Wildlife (Conservation and Security) Act, 2012 was enacted to conserve forests and wildlife and maintain biodiversity. Section 52(1) says the government may make rules by gazette notification to fulfil the act's purposes, and 52(2) sets out the matters on which rules may be made.

Later, the rules on compensation for loss of life and property from wildlife attacks, 2021, were made by gazette notification. They provide compensation only for people injured or killed by tigers, elephants, crocodiles and bears, though an attack by any wild animal in a safari park is covered. Compensation is Tk 3 lakh for a death and up to Tk 1 lakh for serious injury. But the rules make no provision for death or injury from snakebite.

According to a 2023 study by the Directorate General of Health Services, at least 7,511 people die of snakebite in Bangladesh every year. Some 95 percent of bites happen in rural areas, where victims lack adequate treatment, and most are farmers or people working in agriculture. Of them, 61 percent go to a traditional healer (ojha) and only 17 percent go to hospital.

In the monsoon, poor transport means victims cannot be taken to hospital quickly; even when they reach hospital there is often no antivenom, and even when there is, late arrival means it is often not enough to save the patient. In many cases antivenom causes side effects, breathing difficulty and the need for ICU care, and the patient dies. The death of a family's only earner is not his alone: the whole family falls into severe financial hardship.

At the same time, snakes are vital to the balance of the environment. Crops worth about Tk 11,000 crore are lost to rats every year. Of the 98 species of snake found in Bangladesh, only 31 are venomous, yet people kill all kinds of snakes indiscriminately out of fear for their lives.

Where people receive compensation for death from attacks by tigers, lions, elephants, crocodiles and bears, and for death in road accidents, it is discriminatory that no one receives compensation for death from snakebite, the petition argues.

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