About 1,000 educational institutions covered under 'SARPA Padam' awareness programme on snakes
The idea is to cover all educational institutions ranging from anganwadis to colleges during this academic year. As per the General Education Department's data, there are 36,000 educational institutions up to higher secondary level in Kerala. 'SARPA Padam,' is an extension of department's initiative SARPA, Snake Awareness Rescue and Protection App, a digital platform for various matters related to snakes and snake bites.
'We have trained a group of 70 educators to conduct the hour-long awareness classes in educational institutions. This include both the staff of the forest department including social forestry wing and volunteers. We are in the process of training additional batches of educators. We have prepared a compact digital content complete with power point presentation for the educators to follow a uniform content and to cover all crucial aspects during the class,' said Muhammed Anvar, assistant conservator and State nodal officer for SARPA, Kerala Forest department.
The content among other things cover the ecological significance of conserving snakes, different species of snakes, how to recognise dangerous species, different types of venom and anti-venom, how to avoid snake bite, do's and dont's in the event of bite etc.
A safety audit for the possible presence of snakes was held under SARPA in educational institutions, including anganwadis, ahead of the start of the academic year and snakes were indeed caught from some places. 'We gave instructions to remove building materials found carelessly dumped providing safe haven for snakes near areas with frequent movement of students, clean up premises, including even parts of grounds, to protect children going to fetch balls, remove tree branches and plants hanging over school roofs, especially tiled ones, properly lock doors and windows, and keep the areas near computer labs clean since snakes could snuggle into footwear, which students are asked to remove before entering labs,' said Mr. Anvar.
Apart from educational institutions, awareness classes are also held for other vulnerable target groups like workers participating in Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Program, Kudumbashree members, farmers etc.
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The Hindu
2 days ago
- The Hindu
About 1,000 educational institutions covered under 'SARPA Padam' awareness programme on snakes
About 1,000 educational institutions in the State have been covered under 'SARPA Padam,' a snake-related awareness program launched by the Kerala Forest Department this year. The idea is to cover all educational institutions ranging from anganwadis to colleges during this academic year. As per the General Education Department's data, there are 36,000 educational institutions up to higher secondary level in Kerala. 'SARPA Padam,' is an extension of department's initiative SARPA, Snake Awareness Rescue and Protection App, a digital platform for various matters related to snakes and snake bites. 'We have trained a group of 70 educators to conduct the hour-long awareness classes in educational institutions. This include both the staff of the forest department including social forestry wing and volunteers. We are in the process of training additional batches of educators. We have prepared a compact digital content complete with power point presentation for the educators to follow a uniform content and to cover all crucial aspects during the class,' said Muhammed Anvar, assistant conservator and State nodal officer for SARPA, Kerala Forest department. The content among other things cover the ecological significance of conserving snakes, different species of snakes, how to recognise dangerous species, different types of venom and anti-venom, how to avoid snake bite, do's and dont's in the event of bite etc. A safety audit for the possible presence of snakes was held under SARPA in educational institutions, including anganwadis, ahead of the start of the academic year and snakes were indeed caught from some places. 'We gave instructions to remove building materials found carelessly dumped providing safe haven for snakes near areas with frequent movement of students, clean up premises, including even parts of grounds, to protect children going to fetch balls, remove tree branches and plants hanging over school roofs, especially tiled ones, properly lock doors and windows, and keep the areas near computer labs clean since snakes could snuggle into footwear, which students are asked to remove before entering labs,' said Mr. Anvar. Apart from educational institutions, awareness classes are also held for other vulnerable target groups like workers participating in Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Program, Kudumbashree members, farmers etc.
The Hindu
6 days ago
- The Hindu
Tamil Nadu records 1,303 Nilgiri Tahrs in second synchronised survey
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New Indian Express
02-08-2025
- New Indian Express
Reptile rescue: Kerala teachers to receive training to catch snakes spotted in schools
KOCHI: In 2019, ten-year-old Shahla Sherin died of snakebite at a government school in Wayanad, triggering a massive uproar. Last December, a girl was bitten by a snake at a school in Thiruvananthapuram. In Kerala, old school buildings often see these slithering reptiles turn up as uninvited guests, leading to panic. The threat is a constant source of worry for the parents. They can rest easy. For teachers of the state have decided to get trained, and that too by the forest department, in snake rescue. It is not a government initiative. A few teachers expressed interest in attending the training following which the forest department offered to hold a one-day session. Kerala has historically reported a high number of snakebites and an average 100 deaths in a year. Recently, after the introduction of the Sarpa app, there has been a steep decline in snakebite deaths. In 2024, around 3000 snakebites were reported while around 34 people died due to it. 'Palakkad reported the highest number of snakebite deaths in Kerala until recently, as the district has vast swathes of paddy fields and agriculture is the main source of livelihood. The figures dropped since farmers switched to mechanised farming,' said assistant conservator of forests T Mohammed Anwar. 'The programme aims to create awareness among teachers on rescuing, handling and releasing snakes. If we can train teachers, it will be easy to reach out to students,' he said. 'This is not a subject to troll the teachers. The training is not being organised by the education department and participation is voluntary. Interested teachers can attend. It will help know about rescuing snakes and how to ensure students' safety if a snake is spotted on the school premises,' said Kerala School Teachers Association Palakkad district secretary K Ajila. The session will be held at Aranya Bhavan, the forest department's training facility at Olavakode, from 9am to 5pm on August 11. 'If the response is inspiring, we plan to extend the training to teachers in all districts,' Anwar said.
