Snakebite Claims 3 More Lives In Odisha; Govt Issues Advisory To CDMOs, Schools

Bhubaneswar: Snakebite claims lives of three minor boys, including two physically challenged brothers, in two separate incidents in Odisha on Tuesday morning.

The first incident took place at Jangalikudar village under Deogarh police limits when a venomous snake bit two differently-abled brothers Gouranga Dehury (14) and Soubhagya Dehury (8) while they were sleeping on the floor of the house.

They were rushed to the Deogarh district headquarters hospital but died during treatment, sources said.

In the second incident at Katuria village in Kaptipada Tehsil of Mayurbhanj district, a minor boy died while her mother got critical after being bitten by a venomous snake this morning.

This came two days after three minor students, two of them girls, staying in a hostel run by a private coaching centre at Nischintpur village under Baria police station limits in Keonjhar district died after being bitten by a poisonous snake.

Following the incident, the Health and Family Welfare Department on Monday issued an advisory and asked Chief District Medical Officers (CDMOs) to maintain a sufficient stock of anti-venom drugs at the community health centres. The Education Department has been directed to keep school premises clean while schools have been asked to take precautionary steps to keep snakes away from their premises.