Harmless mandul snake caught at Wanadongri building site, labourers calm down

Panic broke out among construction workers in Wanadongri, Hingna tehsil, Nagpur district, when a snake turned up without warning at a house under construction. The site is near the home of Rohan Sanjay Bhatt.

The trouble began when one labourer saw the reptile while work was on. He raised the alarm, and the rest of the crew, gripped by fear, stopped what they were doing.

Mahesh Nandeshwar, the supervisor present at the site, responded quickly. He telephoned snake catchers Himanshu Surjuse and Akash Meshram and told them about the animal.

The two rescuers arrived soon after the call. They inspected the snake closely and concluded that it was a "mandul", the name by which the species is known locally. The animal looks somewhat like a Russell's viper, but the rescuers said it is not venomous.

Working with care, they then caught the snake. It was later set free in its natural habitat, unhurt.

With the danger over, the workers relaxed and went back to a calm site. They were grateful for the speed with which the rescuers came and for the safe handling of the snake, which kept a scary moment from turning into something worse.