Baripada: Incidents of death from snakebite are on the rise in various parts of Mayurbhanj district and are largely attributed to negligence on the part of people.
According to reports, over 40 people have lost their lives due to snakebite in the last two years while over 12,000 persons were treated at the district headquarters hospital.
Socials activists say people in remote pockets take snakebite victims to sorcerers or traditional healers instead of giving them medical attention. The victims are taken to hospitals only after their conditions worsen. Such delay in treatment leads to casualties, activists said.
According to sources in the district headquarters hospital, in 2015 and 2016, about 40 people have died from snakebites in the district. However, the figure could be higher as many cases go unreported.
During the period from April, 2014 to March, 2015, as many 431 person bitten by snakes were admitted to the district headquarters hospital, while 542 snakebite victims were treated at the hospital between April 2015 and March 2016.
According to official sources, 26 people died from snakebite from April 2015 to March 2016, while 12 persons have lost their lives since April 2016.
Social activists said many cases of snakebites are not reported from remote and hilly areas of the district. As a result, the victims do not get compensation from the state government, they added. The government has made provision of `4 lakh as compensation each for snakebite victims.
“For lack of awareness about the provision, people fail to benefit from the scheme. In many cases, people, inspired by blind faith, suffer loss of lives. They burry the bodies of snakebite victims without conducting post-mortem and informing the incident to the administration,” observed Dr Pranab Shankar Das, a doctor at the district headquarters hospital. Autopsy of snakebite victims must be done before being disposed of, he said, adding in some cases, family members of snakebite victims take them to sorcerers when they should have been administered anti-venom injections.
The doctor said 20 kinds of anti-venom injections are available at the hospital.
Many intellectuals observed that the district administration should undertake massive awareness drives among people living in remote areas so that they are refrained from adopting superstitious practices in case of snakebites.
Besides, people should be made aware of the provision of financial compensation they are entitled to in case of their kin dying from snakebite. PNN