A Journalist Turned Wildlife Activist Is Fighting For Snake-Conservation
“There is a wrong perception about snakes. They aren’t as negative as we project them. They are as much a part of the ecology as all of us,” Biplab gives a disclaimer before he begins narrating his interesting journey.
All of 31 years, Biplab Mahapatra worked as a full-time journalist till 2011 till his love for environment and wildlife conservation compelled him to give up his job.
Biplab, who is currently focusing on snake conservation, strongly believes each living animal on earth has an equal right to live and he can go to any extent to prove it. “Animals are a part of the food chain. We need to save animals to maintain ecology,” he puts it simply.
Sharing his journey, Biplab who is also a mountaineer, tells MCL, “Both my father and brother were journalists, so I had a fascination towards this field. But since I was always concerned about animal conservation, even as a journalist, I worked part-time as a volunteer in People For Animals’ Angul chapter and did my bit for wildlife.”
The first instance of snake-rescue for Biplab came in 2011, when he heard that a huge snake had been discovered in a nearby village. He immediately rushed to the area and found that the villagers were trying to kill it. “It took me almost three hours to convince them not to kill it. It was the first time I rescued a snake and it was a python,” Biplab recollects.
The incident somehow touched a chord in his heart and he later gave up his job and took up animal conservation full-time. Though the rescue job had started from 2011, People For Animals Angul chapter was registered in 2012. “From then, I gave my full-time to the NGO, stressing on snake-conservation. We work to rescue and rehabilitate sick and needy animals. We set up and run shelters, ambulance services, sterilisation programs, treatment camps and disaster rescue missions for animals.”
His dedication is such that he continues to work with a passion despite being bitten by snakes and fired at twice! “I have been bitten by non-venomous snakes many times and once by a poisonous one. There is nothing scary about it. Without panicking and with the right approach, we can survive snake bites,” he explains.
He goes on to inform how he was also shot at on two occasions by poachers because he objected to wildlife trade. “Basically, my motivation is too high to give up on this work despite the threats,” he adds.
Initially when Biplab was working part-time at PFA, he used to divert his salary to the NGO, but today he admits funding is an issue. “There is no proper funding source. We did get some support from Maneka Gandhi when we started but now we depend on donations and collaborations.”
Currently, he is working on a programme on snake-conservation, which he will be launching from June to November. The campaign will be held in 100 schools, 50 panchayats and 20 forest divisions. The team, which consists of 40 to 50 people will create awareness about human-snake conflict management, myth related to snakes and snake bites.
“Every year, as per WHO report, around 50,000 people in India die of snake-bites and in Odisha, the number stands at 7000. Though we have campaigns for diseases like malaria and jaundice, not much is being done for deaths due to snake-bites. So we thought of starting this campaign to educate children, who will spread the message further,” he signs off.