SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, April 16: Presence of snakes in the campus of IIT Indian School of Mines (ISM) Dhanbad has caused panic among the students and staff. A senior professor of the institute said that snakes of different kinds have been spotted at the park, ground, hostels, and teachers’ colony.
The Director of ISM, Rajiv Shekhar, issued an alertness decree for the students two days ago before he went on leave. While addressing the condolence meeting over the demise of a student, he advised the students to not go out in the evening as snakes’ movement has increased in the campus.
The snakes have been spotted by various students and professors in the past few days. A student said that it is impossible to remain confined in a room during summer just to avoid conflict with snakes.
Bhavesh C. Sarkar, Head of the department of Geology said, “It is not surprising. As the temperature rises in summer, movement of snakes increases on campus. I can’t say whether it is harmful or not but the snakes are long in size and are seen everywhere on the campus, in gardens, parks and even near teachers quarters.”
Two years ago, Prof. Sarkar found a snake in his garage and was scared. He just ran away. He added that on a winter Sunday he was reading the morning newspaper in the park when a professor alerted him that there was a snake behind him.
Brajesh Kumar, a student of IIT said that he often spots snakes near the hostel. Another student, Navdesh, has made several videos of snakes in the campus and informed that there has not been any incident of snake bite in the campus yet.
