Snakebite human toll is incidentally higher than other form of disaster in Odisha

Bhubaneswar:5/5/18: The snake bites, which has been declared as a ‘State Specific Disaster’ by Odisha government from April 1, 2015, claim close to 600 human lives every year, according to statistics released by Special relief commissioner’s office.

The snakebite human toll is incidentally higher than other form of disaster-related human death in the State.

As per reports received from the district Collectors across 30 districts, as many as 1716 snakebite deaths have occurred in the State during the last 3 years from 2015 to 2018.

Case of snakebite deaths have also registered sharp rise over the years. While 446 people died in 2015, the human toll had gone up to 574 in 2016 year. It has jumped up to 696 in 2017-18 year, according to officials.

Odisha accounted for 4689 human deaths in different disasters, of which snakebite death amounted to 1761, 37% of total disaster-induced death registered in the state. No other disaster claimed as many human lives like the snakebite toll since past three years.

The coastal districts- Balasore and Ganjam- topped the snakebite-induced toll accounting for 164 and 147 deaths. Keonjhar and Mayurbhanj closely trailed in snakebite toll with 145 cases of death.

The Basta block in Balasore district recorded highest human number of human casuality with 33 registered deaths.

Most of the snakebite deaths have occurred during the months from May to October. Out of total 1716 snakebite deaths occurred in 3 years, 1464 deaths (about 85%) have occurred during six months, according to officials.