Livelihood slithers away from snake catchers of Irula community

The couple is among 360 men and women of Irula tribe living in villages like Manamathi, Poonjeri, Kunnapattu and Pattipulam, who depend on catching the snakes for the venom extraction centre, braving their lives for their livelihood. They are given licence by the government through Snake Catchers Industrial Co-operative Society to catch snakes for a period of eight months in a year and are paid depending on the nature of snakes they bring. "We don't catch snakes during the summer since it is not safe for them to be kept in containers. So, the licences are given in the Tamil month of Aadi (July), which are valid up to March," said Kumaresan, one of the snake catchers.

During summer, both the men and women from the community go for random jobs to take care of their families, but the lockdown has denied that option this year. "The association has not taken a decision to issue the licences this year yet and even if they do, we are not sure how we can travel to different places without public transport," said Karthik, son Dayalan and Parimala.

Karthik complained that the association did not take any steps for the welfare of the community during the lockdown and added that they survived on the free ration provided through the PDS shops and help offered by a few NGOs.

However, when contacted, an official of the society said that proposal for licences have been sent to the ministries concerned and positive response is awaited soon. "Now, we have started giving work to the snake catchers as companies and factories approach us to catch snakes in their premises. A few days ago, we deposited Rs 3,000 in each member's bank account and many of them may not be aware of it," said the official and added that the society is doing everything possible for the welfare of the Irula community.

The snakes the Irula tribe catch would be kept in pots at the snake park inside the Crocodile Bank and the venom extraction would be exhibited to the visitors. Adults are charged Rs 17 to witness the venom extraction and children are charged Rs 12. The extracted venom would be stored in containers and sent to various research centres and authorised pharma companies. After the venom is extracted, the snakes are released in forest areas. As many as 600 snakes are usually brought to the centre by the snake catchers and kept for the venom extraction.