Bhubaneswar: Snakebites have turned out to be a major killer in Odisha, as many as 3,423 precious lives have been lost due to snake bites in the State from April 2015 till date.
“From April 2015 till date 3,423 persons have died due to snake bites in the State,” revealed Prabhat Ranjan Mohapatra, Deputy Special Relief Commissioner here today.
Giving a year-wise break-up of deaths due to snake bites, the Deputy Special Relief Commissioner said that while 485 deaths due to snake bites in the State were reported in the year 2015-16, 610 deaths were reported in 2016-17, 837 in 2017-18, 887 in 2018-19 and 604 till date in the current year 2019-20.
Mohapatra informed that the Odisha government has declared death due to snakebite as a State-specific disaster from April 1, 2015, and family members of a person killed due to snakebite are eligible to get a compensation of Rs 4 lakh.
Statistics provided by the Deputy Special Relief Commissioner reveals that during the period 2015-16 to 2019-20 (up to 21.12.2019) Mayurbhanj district has recorded 312 deaths which are the maximum number of deaths due to snake bites, followed by Ganjam which has recorded 287 and Balasore 266.
Mohapatra said that one can be saved from death due to snake bite if the patient is rushed to the nearest hospital at the earliest and administered with Anti Snake Venom (ASV).
He said that ASV is available at all Community Health Centres (CHCs) and at Primary Health Centres (PHCs) where an MBBS doctor is posted.
The Health & Family Welfare department is making efforts to make it available sufficiently and at all times, he added.
The Deputy Special Relief Commissioner also informed that programmes are being undertaken to raise awareness levels among the people in this regard.
He said that ‘Village Disaster Management Plan’ is being prepared in 10,000 villages in the State which will be extended to remaining 50,000 odd villages gradually.