Bantala: Two villagers died of snakebite at two different places in Angul district Thursday. One was Suresh Chandra Sahoo (35) of Mushapapuli village of Rantalei panchayat in Angul area. The other was Sulochana Sahoo (62) of Ghantapada village in Talcher.
Both were admitted to the Angul district headquarters hospital, but this did not help. Police handed over the bodies to the families after post-mortem.
The number of snakebite deaths in the region is more than those of the calamities in floods, cyclones, fire mishaps and drowning. They account for 37 per cent of total disaster deaths in the state. At least 1,716 people have died of snakebite in the past three years. Almost 97 per cent of the cases were reported from rural areas.
PNN