Faridabad: These days, in Faridabad and surrounding areas, snakes are continuously coming out of the forests and reaching roads and houses. With the onset of mild winter, snakes often come out to bask in the sun and go into their holes when it gets severe cold, but many times people kill snakes out of fear or they are crushed by vehicles. In such a situation, the lives of both humans and snakes are in danger. For this reason, there are some people in the society who catch snakes safely and release them in the forest without any greed. One of these names is that of Neeraj, resident of Sikri, Faridabad. People in the area know him as ‘Snake Man’.
While talking to Local18, Neeraj tells that he has been doing the work of catching and rescuing snakes for the last several years. He says that even today I have caught two snakes from Harpala village. One was a water snake and the other was a rat snake. Both are not poisonous. Neeraj tells that many types of snakes are found in this area, Indian Spectacled Cobra, a special species of Common Krait. Among these, cobra and krait are considered poisonous, whereas many snakes are completely harmless.
First rescue done in 16 years
Neeraj says that he never took any training. Used to watch Discovery and National Geographic channels since childhood. From there he learned the technique of catching snakes. Then slowly practiced myself. He laughs and says that the first time I caught a snake, I was 16 years old. It was a common krait, it was not scared at all and I caught it. Neeraj told that currently I am 40 years old.
He has studied till class 10th and runs a fast food shop in his village for employment. The shop is their source of income. Despite this, he never takes any money for catching snakes. He says that this is my social service work. Doesn’t take even a single rupee from anyone. After catching, I release the snakes into the forest. They also have life, they have the right to live.
ready for rescue immediately
Many times it happens that when Neeraj is at the shop, a call for rescue comes. Then he hands over the shop to his nephew to manage and sets out himself. Even on calls received late at night, he reaches the spot at the same time. His brother and friends also accompany him, who handle the video recording. Neeraj says that I alone do the work of catching snakes, other people handle the camera.
You can save your life with wisdom
Neeraj tells that the recently caught Reto snake was about 6 to 7 feet long. They say that Reto snake has no poison. Even if someone gets bitten, he will be cured if he gets a tetanus injection. In the last several years, Neeraj has been on calls continuously from different villages, cities and many areas of Delhi-NCR and has rescued snakes. They believe that snakes do not cause harm, but people kill them due to fear and misunderstanding.
Neeraj says that I do this work so that the lives of humans and snakes are also saved. Both are part of our earth. If we act wisely then accidents can be avoided. Seeing the courage, spirit of service and the work being done without any fee, people of this youth of Sikri village respect him a lot. It is people like Neeraj who prove that even a single person can make a big difference to both society and nature.
