Bipin Dani
Mahendra Yadava, who is a wildlife warden in Assam was not surprised when he heard that the international T-20 cricket match between India and South Africa at Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati was to be stopped for a few minutes because a snake had appeared on the ground when Indian openers were batting.
“No, I was not surprised because we find these snakes often. It is a very common scene to have snakes here and there. Even near my house in Guwahati, we see snakes”, Yadava, speaking over the telephone, said. “There are few poisonous snakes and few non-poisonous snakes”.
After dogs, bees, flying kites, sandstorms and dead birds it was rare to see a match halted by a snake. A 4-member team of ground staff rushed to the ground to catch the snake. It was led-by Digambar Bora.
Incidentally, Bora is not a regular professional snake catcher. No specialist snake catcher was present at the ground.
“I am a mechanic at the stadium and repair the ground equipment and machines like pitch rollers, grass cutters, trolleys, super soppers etc. and this (snake appearance) was the sudden thing to have happened. Our head groundsman (Mukut Kalita) was not nearby and I rushed there with my colleagues”, he says exclusively over the telephone.
“No, I was not scared of it. It is a very common site to find snakes in this part of India. I have caught a few snakes near my house”, he added.
“We have a small nalla near our stadium and this snake may have come from there. There was noise in the match, fans were shouting, playing music and a lot of vibrations. This may be the possible reason for this snake to enter here”, Bora added.
“I caught the snake with a pvc pipe and a rope, threw it in the water drainage in the nalla”.
