Last Sunday, Manav Tamang, 17, of Thori Rural Municipality-2 in Parsa district, was bitten by a venomous snake. He was immediately rushed to a snakebite treatment centre at Nirmalbasti, which is about six kilometres from his residence. Manav received timely treatment of the snakebite and returned home after 24 hours.

“We could save my nephew’s life as the snakebite treatment centre is near to the village,” said Kailash Tamang, Manav’s uncle. “His life would obviously be at risk unless there was a snakebite treatment facility in the village. The local people have been benefited after the Nepal Army set up the snakebite treatment centre at Nirmalbasti in Thori-4 some four years ago.”

Incidents of snakebite are rife in the southern plains with increasing temperature and inundation caused by monsoon rains. The victims need immediate treatment in case the poisonous snakes bite them. The locals of Thori Rural Municipality have been relieved after the Sabuj Box Battalion of the Nepal Army set up the snakebite treatment centre at Nirmalbasti in 2020 with an objective of providing snakebite treatment facilities to the rural population of Parsa, a central Tarai district in Madhesh Province.

As per the data available at the treatment centre, a total of 513 patients bitten by snakes, scorpions and hornets have received treatment as of now. Only a death was reported at the centre. “A youth who was bitten by a poisonous snake in Jirabhawani died in the course of treatment. The incident happened as the victim was brought to the centre when it was already too late,” said Man Bahadur Shrestha, chairman of the snakebite treatment centre management committee. According to Shrestha, around three snakebite victims on average visit the centre for treatment daily during the monsoon season.

The snakebite treatment centre is being run in coordination with the locals. A team of three technical personnel of the Nepal Army have been deployed in the centre for the treatment. “We are successful in providing effective treatment in coordination with the local people,” said Jivan Gurung, a Nepal Army captain. “Not only the locals of Thori, the snakebite victims from Jirabhawani and Jagarnathpur rural municipalities, Birgunj Metropolitan City and Madi Municipality of neighbouring Chitwan also visit the centre for snakebite treatment.” According to Gurung, even some patients from neighbouring India visit the centre.

The snakebite treatment centre has six beds. According to Shrestha, the local people, Thori Rural Municipality and the Tarai Arc Landscape Project of the World Wildlife Fund supported building physical infrastructures and managed tools.

“The centre provides free of cost treatment to the snakebite victims,” said Shrestha. The rural municipality provides necessary medicines while the health logistic management office in Hetauda supplies anti-snake venoms to the centre.

The federal Ministry of Health and Population sent a ventilator machine which costs around Rs2.2 million to the snakebite treatment centre two weeks ago. But the machine is yet to be used due to lack of space. “The rural municipality has assured the construction of a building soon,” Shrestha said. “I hope the machine will be operated soon.”