Urge to save serpents turns Bhaskar Naidu snake catcher

He is a Maestry in TTD forest department overseeing the works meant for the conservation of forest under TTD and also the gardens under TTD maintenance in Tirumala.

Bhaskar Naidu (66), the maestry invariably came across snakes coming out of their holes in the forest and forest fringe areas on the hills and also his men tend to kill them immediately after spotting the reptile.

First, the killing of the snakes did not bother Naidu as others felt it was poisonous so to be weeded out but later it evoked pity for the reptiles, which ultimately turned a snake catcher, catching more than 10000 snakes in his 25 year long stint in TTD forest service.

`Me too ran away out of fear after spotting a snake' he said, recalling the days before he began catching snakes .` First it was ticklish and risky but later on I learnt the art of catching snakes' he Naidu said recalling the difficulties he faced for catching a snake alive.

Over the years I started believing that it is also a service to God, saving snakes from being killed, allowing them to live in their space , said Naidu, informing that he started catching snakes in 1995 and later it became his hobby, making popular as 'Pamula Naidu'.

'I remember well. First it was a 15 feet Python coiled in a bush which I captured and released it in the deep forest', he said

To his credit so far he caught more than 10, 000 snakes venomous and non-venomous in Tirupati and Tirumala.

Both in Tirumala and Tirupati, if any one sees a snake in their premises including TTD offices, garden, staff quarters, cottages, temples, my mobile phone immediately buzz and the next moment I rush to the spot'' he said explaining his daily life in which no day passed away without the SoS from people for catching a snake.

Explaining his recent bitter experience, he said he went to the SV University after receiving a call and found a 'Raktha Pinjari'(Russell's viper) coiled under a rock. `My right hand glove slipped when I tried to catch the most venomous snake that stung him, leading to his hospitalization and escaping narrowly from the jaws of death. He thanked TTD for bearing the entire Rs 12 lakh hospital bill and it was God who spurred TTD to save his life to continue the service'. 'I will continue this hobby and I feel saving snakes is nothing but service to God who I believe bestowed me with the knack of catching snakes ', he said.