THE HINDU (Chennai, India) 14 December 08 No site for snake park - Raj Kumar hopes for land near Necklace Road
Hyderabad: He lost two fingers following venomous snake bites, but refuses to lose hope for his dream project. Despite several hiccups, Raj Kumar of the Friends of Snakes Club continues to chase his pet project of setting up a snake park in the city.
The club, which presently has more than 100 volunteers contributing in different capacities, has been looking for at least two-acre site to set up the ambitious park. For the purpose, Mr. Raj Kumar, who spent almost two decades handling snakes, has come out with a blue print and spent several months in the US studying the way they are kept there.
Ironically, earlier initiatives for the park almost took off on couple of occasions only to get grounded in the last minute. Few years ago, the State government earmarked a site at Mahendra Hills and when all seemed to be falling in place with even the Union government approving a grant of Rs.25 crore and National Zoo Authority giving clearance, it hit a dead end. The necessary clearance from the airport authorities did not come through given restrictions on building heights in the area.
Since then, the project has been lying in cold storage and Mr. Raj Kumar is hoping that the government will provide him a site, particularly at Necklace Road. His blueprint plans the park not only as a facility to keep the snakes but also to educate people about them and also come up with captive breeding of species that are endangered.
“I know about all the Indian species and know where to source them. We have plans of closed structures to provide ambient temperature for the snakes and have at least 50 representative species,” says Mr. Raj Kumar. Snake, he says is the most misunderstood species and there is a need for a concerted initiative to dispel notions associated with it. He has been bitten by snakes 29 times in his 20 years and bites by a cobra and a Russell’s viper resulted in his losing two fingers. Presently at a farm on city outskirts, he is training volunteers on understanding, identifying and handling snakes.
On an average, the club attends five to six snake rescue calls from different parts of the city and suburbs. The volunteer who is available closest to the call area is rushed and once rescued, the snake is maintained by the club till the Forest Department accords permission on releasing it in the wild.
No site for snake park