VELLORE: Sadiq Ali (45), is not just a snake rescuer. He loves the reptiles and is concerned about their safety. He developed a passion for snakes at the age of five when his family was in Chennai. He runs a hotel in Ooty and leather manufacturing unit in Ranipet.Having rescued over 2,000 snakes, he is an expert in the profession. “Snakes, are feeble animals and they cannot be tamed. People out of fear, kill them”, he says. A member of Niligiris Wildlife and Environment Association, Ali gives training to Forest Department field staff. On Monday, he was in Vellore to train the field staff of the Forest Department, on how to rescue, handle and rehabilitate strayed snakes. Around 150 staffers participated in the training. The State government should establish snake rehabilitation centres in all districts to save them from human aggression, he said. The Fire and Rescue and Forest Department staff catch snakes with a metallic hook with tong like arrangement. This causes fracture of bones due to pressure applied on them, ultimately leading to death of snakes. To avoid this, he has developed his own design of hook and a cloth bag, both made of bamboo/cane. He got them done at Wallajah recently. Giving a demo of how to use these tools to catch snakes on Monday, he said that he had proposed to introduce the tools to the Forest Department across Tamil Nadu.
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