Visakhapatnam: 'Hissing' visitor creates a flutter at workplace

Visakhapatnam: Employees working at rolling mills construction site office of Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) had the shock of their life when a 'hissing' visitor slithered into their workplace.

A rat snake made its way into the office on Tuesday. When the employees saw the 'uninvited guest' settling quietly in a corner under the rack, they scurried for the door only to exit from the office to raise an alarm.

When one of the employees alerted snake catcher Rokkam Kiran Kumar, he was already engaged in a rescue operation at Ukkunagaram township at that point of time. "It just took me 15 minutes to reach the office and spot the rat snake. This is the fourth snake that I rescued for the day," says Kiran Kumar, founder of the Snake Saver Society.

"By the time I reached the spot, people were still screaming," the snake catcher says after rescuing the reptile.

The employees heaved a sigh of relief as the snake was caught effortlessly by Kiran Kumar and placed in the rescue van to release it into the nearby forest or hill range where there is no human habitation.

For many locals, Kiran Kumar is the 'savior' as he arrives at workplaces and houses to catch a snake as soon as he receives a call from the people requesting him to save them from the reptile.

On Tuesday alone, Kiran Kumar rescued four reptiles -- a cobra, two common krait and a rat snake. After informing the officials of the Indira Gandhi Zoological Park, Kiran Kumar released the snakes in nearby hills at Parawada.