Mumbai: 10-ft snake causes panic in Babulnath school

Shubham Bendre with the 105ftlong rat snake PicBipin KokateA 105ftlong nonvenomous rat snake caused a panic last morning in BKM High School in Dady Seth lane a quiet upscale residential nook of Babulnath when it slithered across a canopy abutting a classroom window A school alumnus and snake catcher had to be called to rescue the nonvenomous snake and release it into the forested area near the Hanging GardenAlso read Mumbai Snake bites watchman at Mulund school parents rattledThree students of Std IX spotted the snake around 830 and raised an alarm ldquoThe school was open from 830 am to 1030 am for the final oral examination Three students saw the snake which slithered across the canopy and moved towards the school compound through a gaprdquo said Meghna Osahan school administratorShe said it caused a panic for some time in the classroom ldquoThe situation was brought under control and students were asked to continue with their examination Later the teacher and I called one of our former students who works with the local police in rescuing snakesrdquoExstudent to the rescueThe alumnus Shubham Bendre reached the school around 9 am and found the snake stuck inside a small pipe ldquoAfter rescuing the snake I waited for it to calm down first and then released it into a forested area near the Hanging Gardenrdquo said the 20yearold college student who has taken after his father in rescuing snakesAlso read Snake visits Marine Drive promenade locals try to capture momentHe speculated that the snake had ventured into the residential areas owing to rising temperatures ldquoMalabar Hill and Babulnath are verdant So sighting of snakes is very common here But the recent spike in temperature could have made the snake come out in search of a cold shelter Recently I rescued four snakes from near the schoolrdquo said Bendre a resident of Malabar HillPrevious scaresWhile school principal Shobhana Anand said no snake had ever been sighted this close to the premises the locality has survived snake scares In October last year residents of Dady Seth Lane spotted two snakes in the vicinity and summoned a snake catcher The first time a snake slithered into the first floor home of a resident in Garden View building which is very close to the school A snake catcher Yogesh Panhale from Byculla managed to catch itAlso read Mumbai Snakes keep residents of SoBo buildings on their toesJust a day or two later a venomous 4ftlong black cobra was spotted in Tej Kiran building which adjoins BKM School Panhale caught that one tooAt the time the snake was spotted there were 300 students on the school premisesWith inputs from Hemal Ashar