Residents Are Sent Into A Tizzy After Spotting Pythons Roaming Free On Streets

Amid increasing water levels of the rivers, the inhabitants of the Sangam City of Lucknow are facing a lot of miseries, including the frequent appearance of snakes. Forest department was on high alert after people started spotting pythons in the locality and a rescue team was deployed to catch and release them in the forest areas.

The inhabitants of Sangam city, however, are not alien to being faced with snakes as pythons kept slithering into the public space due to floods in lower regions and riverbanks of the district.

According to a report by Hindusthan Times, many snakes and pythons were rescued in the district. The notable catches were three large pythons at different spots in the city.

Surprisingly, a 10-feet-long python was found coiled inside a car on the New Yamuna Bridge on August 20. On August 25, another large python was seen hanging from a tree branch in the same spot. Following this incident, on August 28, a 15-feet-long python was found lurking behind the bushes near Shivkuti Police station in the city.

"Snakes, pythons and local species of reptiles are in abundance in forest areas of Prayagraj and Kachhar region of the district. Due to floods and heavy rains, they seek shelters on higher altitudes and migrate towards city areas and human settlements. Most of the snakes, pythons and other reptiles are of shy nature and do not pose any life threat to humans," Hindustan Times quoted Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) DP Shukla as saying.

Shukla also added, “People should not panic if they come around a snake or a large python. Instead, people should maintain a distance and do not try to provoke or harm them. Forest department of police should be immediately informed and in no case, the animal should be attacked or harmed by the citizens, as it is punishable under the Indian Wildlife Act.”

He confirmed that a team of forest employees is working tirelessly to rescue the snakes from varied localities and release them to their natural habitat in a very short notice.

The snake sightings become frequent during the monsoon when the snakes venture into the locality to prey on goats and small pets.