4-yr-old among 3 dead in Surguja

Raipur: Three people, including a father and his four-year-old daughter, died in separate snake bite incidents in Chhattisgarh’s Surguja division on Monday night.The deaths were reported from Balrampur and Surguja districts, where all the victims were sleeping on the floor when they were bitten by venomous snakes.In the first incident, 36-year-old Shanichara Paikra and his daughter Hemanti were sleeping with the family on the floor of their house in Dambhatoli village in Balrampur district when a venomous snake reportedly slithered onto their bedding around midnight and bit both of them.Instead of rushing them to hospital, family members initially sought traditional faith healing, delaying medical treatment by several hours.

The two were eventually taken to the community health centre at Shankargarh around 4 am. Doctors declared Hemanti dead on arrival, while Shanichara was referred to Ambikapur Medical College Hospital, where he later succumbed during treatment.In another incident, 13-year-old Aasmani Ekka died after she was bitten by a common krait while sleeping on the floor with her aunt at her maternal uncle’s house in Sakariya village in Surguja district.

She was first taken to Kunni hospital and later referred to Ambikapur Medical College Hospital, where she died during treatment on Tuesday.The latest fatalities come barely a week after an elderly woman and her granddaughter died of snakebite in Rajpur area of Balrampur district under similar circumstances.Health officials attributed the rise in incidents to the monsoon, saying snakes often enter houses after rainwater floods their burrows. Chief medical and health officer Dr P S Marko appealed to residents, particularly in rural areas, to avoid sleeping on the floor, use mosquito nets, and seek immediate medical treatment after a snakebite instead of relying on traditional healing practices.He said anti-snake venom is available at community health centres and that timely treatment can significantly improve survival chances.