Snake bites? Dial D for Devani

Vijaysinh Parmar TNN Madhavpur (Porbander): As soon as monsoon arrives, Arun Devani’s antennas are up. The 42-year-old has become like an emergency service for villagers who have the misfortune of being bitten by snakes. In fact, he even keeps his hair and beard long so that he can be easily identified. And, the bus stand has become the permanent address of this man who vowed three years ago that no one living within 50 km of him would die of snake bite. Madhavpur town, 60 km from Porbander, and Ghed are low-lying areas which are flooded for four months a year with many villages turning into islands. This is the time snakes abound. “Every day we attend to at least 15 calls on either snake bite or snake rescue from different villages,” says Devani. Since 1994, he has made it his life’s mission not only to save lives of bite victims, but also to rescue snakes. Snake bite cases are rushed to the community health centre (CHC) in Mangrol. According to CHC officials, every year they need to use more than 1,500 vials of anti-snake venom. This reveals the severity of problem in the area. “If not for Devani, many people would lose their lives to snake bites,” says Dr LS Makwana of Mangrol CHC. “It all started because I came to know that many snakes are killed by people who have lost loved ones to snake bites. I could see that largescale killing of snakes would create ecological imbalance. That’s why I took up this work,” he narrates. Since the last three years he and his team have been able to save every victim. Last year they attended to 55 cases of people bitten by poisonous snakes and all of them survived. “Last year my daughter Manisha was bitten by a cobra. We lost all hope that she would survive. It was Arunbhai who saved her,” relates Ranabhai Mer of Chingariya village in Porbander district. The main reason for his success is timing. “Timing is very crucial in snake bite cases. A five-minute delay can lead to death,” he says. Such is his dedication that he stays with patients in hospital till they recover. He believes that in most cases relatives of the patient lose hope after snake bite which affects recovery.