Mumbai: 'Naag devta' keeps residents of SoBo buildings on their toes

A spectacled cobra (right) Yogesh Panhale with the rat snake in Babulnath

Residents of buildings on Dady Seth Lane in Babulnath are a worried bunch. Two snakes have been found in residential compounds, with one actually going into the first-floor home of a resident in Garden View building, since October 15.

The cobra caught in a bottle by Yogesh Panhale (right) The captured rat snake put in a bag

On October 14, Garden View building's ground-floor resident, fashion designer Misbah Mitha, said her domestic help spotted a huge snake near the water tank of the building. "It was late evening. We did not know whom to call; the snake was there for about 5-10 minutes, and then, it disappeared inside a rat hole outside," she said.

When the reptile was spotted again the next morning, Mitha called up snake-catcher Yogesh Panhale from Byculla.

Expert alert
"When I was on my way to the locality, I told the residents to be alert. By the time I reached, the snake had climbed up to the first floor with the help of a pipe. It got in through the grille. It went into the kitchen and tried to hide behind the fridge. The elderly person who lives in the flat locked the door of the room the reptile had taken refuge in. I caught the snake by late afternoon. The 8.5-feet long creature is known as a rat snake, ‘dhaman' in local lingo. It is a non-venomous snake but, because of its size, looks intimidating," said Panhale.

Babulnath's respite, however, was short-lived. On Monday evening, a black-spectacled cobra, four-feet long but venomous, was spotted in Tej Kiran building, which is just opposite Garden View.

Resident Om Shah said, "A worker refurbishing my flat had gone to use the servants' toilet behind the building. He saw a cat staring fixedly at a brick in the compound. Wondering why he looked too and saw a black snake coiled behind the brick."

The worker informed the Shahs, and Om's father Chandrakant called Panhale again. "I caught the snake and put it into a bottle. For non-venomous snakes, I use a cloth bag, for the poisonous ones, a bottle. Both have been released in Thane forest."

Locals on edge
Hemant K, a Raghavji Nivas resident who runs a car rental enterprise in the vicinity, said, "Last May, I saw a snake underneath one of my rental cars. We moved it out, but the worry obviously is still there. Perhaps snakes come out in the heat, and hence, more such sightings are likely as we are feeling the full force of the October heat now."

A relieved Om too said that residents can't let their guard down. "We are just one incident away from a huge tragedy," he warned.

Locals said the snakes may be slithering down from the back of the Hanging Garden. Tej Kiran resident Bakul Shah said, "There is little we can do except be alert... It is very worrying. Just late last evening our watchman called some residents about having spotted another snake in the compound."