The fear of one of the most venomous snakes on the planet, Russell’s Viper (Daboia russelii), is causing mass panic among residents of the Barchala region in the Sonitpur district, adjacent to Tezpur. The panic started after 13-year-old Tanmoy Keot succumbed to a deadly bite of a suspected Russell’s Viper in Bihaguri-Kalitagaon village in Sonitpur district while shepherding his cows.
Even though experts have appealed to the locals to not panic, Assam has been witnessing cases of Russell Viper attacks in the last few years as Northeastern India is not considered the reptile’s habitat.
Wildlife experts maintain that the viper might have appeared as Assam is slowly becoming a hub for illicit wildlife smuggling for which national highways passing through the region serve as an easy transit.
On November 21, Tanmoy Keot, son of a daily wage earner went out with his cows to a neighbouring grassland, according to a former honorary wildlife warden of Sonitpur district, Sourav Borkakati. “The boy did not notice the viper camouflaged in the grassland and might have stepped on it which led to the bite,” Borkakoti told EastMojo.
Instead of standing still or being carried away without moving his body, Tanmoy ran towards his house in Bihaguri-Kalitagoan. Borkakoti, an expert in snake rescue, maintains that snake bite victims are not supposed to move their bodies themselves. “If you ever get bitten by a venomous snake, you are not supposed to move the limb that has been bitten. The boy who got scared ran and the snake venom spread throughout his body. He should have been carried away by someone,” added Borkakoti.
The teenager was rushed to Tezpur’s Baptist Christian Hospital (BCH) where the doctors administered 30 vials of anti-snake venom (ASV). Borkakoti, who was closely following Tanmoy’s treatment, said that his condition deteriorated. “The doctors referred the boy to Guwahati Medical College [GMC] on November 23. However, on November 25, Tanmoy passed away,” added Borkakoti.
Dr Surajit Giri, a renowned expert on snake bite treatment from Sivasagar, said the teenager’s medical records confirmed the snakebite. “I have examined the medical reports of Tanmoy Keot from both BCH and the GMC. While discussing with the national network of doctors dedicated to snake bite treatment, we found the venom levels matched with the Russell’s Vipers found in Maharashtra. Moreover, the symptoms such as kidney failure due to elevated toxic levels led me to conclude that this was the bite of Russell’s Viper. Also, the people who witnessed the snake said it looked like a young python, which matches with the description of a Russell’s Viper,” Giri told EastMojo on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, Borkakati and members of Prakriti, a conservation group based in Tezpur, reached out to the family of Tanmoy Keot. “We raised a sum of Rs 37,000 collected through crowdfunding for the boy’s family who can barely make their ends meet,” added Borkakati. Since last week, Borkakati and a group of farmers have been surveying the area to find any clue about the viper for the last two days. “Soon, the farmers will start harvesting their paddy. This will make them more vulnerable to snake bites. Many are scared to venture into their fields and have been asking our help to hunt down the snake. But we have appealed to the locals not to harm the reptile. We have told the farmers to venture into the field wearing gumboots, which can effectively protect them while a Prakriti group member and I have been conducting awareness camps to prevent any panic,” Borkakati said.
Giri, the anesthesiologist working in the Demow Rural Community Health Centre of Sivasagar, who devised a comprehensive care model for snake bite victims, said there have been three Russell’s Viper attacks in Western Assam. The first case was reported from Kakoijana Reserve Forest near Abhayapuri of Bongaigaon district in 2016, while two cases have been reported this year in Chirang district near the Indo-Bhutan border.
The first case was reported from Kakoijana Reserve Forest near Abhayapuri of Bongaigaon district in 2016, while two cases have been reported this year in Chirang district near the Indo-Bhutan border. Giri noted that while Chirang victims were cured with 20 to 30 doses of ASV, the Kakoijana victim from 2016 was cured with a single vial of ASV.
While Assam or the Northeastern region does not favour the Russell’s Viper because of its tropical climate, the rare Salazar’s Pit vipers (Trimeresurus salazar), also known as Red-Tailed or Green Pit Vipers, are found in Assam.
Borkakoti maintains that Red-Tailed Pit vipers have been known to attack the tea garden workers, especially near Nambor forest in Golaghat district of Assam. Giri informed during a viper attack hemotoxins are released into the victim’s body by the reptile disrupting blood clotting and tissue degeneration leading to organ failures.
The appearance of Russell’s vipers in Assam is a matter of concern for health experts and conservationists. “When the attacks were reported in Western Assam, we surmised that the Russell’s Vipers might have come from West Bengal where these snakes were reported. However, the appearance of the Russell’s Viper in (other parts of) Assam is a matter of concern. It looks like the snakes were probably being transported,” added Dr Giri.
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Borkakati too indicated that Russell’s Viper’s venom is used to make ASVs. “The place where the boy was bitten by the viper is close to National Highway 15. The highway enters Tezpur, where there are police checkpoints. It seems like someone was transporting these snakes, and they realised the Police might apprehend them. So they abandoned them,” Borkakati added.
According to a research paper published in 2023, out of the 1011 registered snakebite cases, 139 patients (13.7%) counted for venomous bites, among which 92 patients (66.19%) accounted for viper bites, and 30 patients (21.5%) were bitten by elapid snakes like cobras. Borkakati says that while the government provides free treatment for snake bite attacks on humans, victims are mostly from marginalized backgrounds.
He maintains that the snake-human conflict does not get adequate attention from the authorities, which then pits humans against rare and endangered species of snakes. “People attacked by tigers or rhinoceros or even elephants have been brought under the compensatory mechanism. All these animals are Schedule 1 species under the Wildlife Protection Act. Even snakes are protected under the Wildlife Act. However, victims are not compensated at all,” Borkakati adds.
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