Odisha: 14-Ft Long King Cobra Rescued From Lecturer's House Near Similipal

Baripada: In a spine-chilling incident, a 14-feet-long king cobra was rescued from the bedroom of a man at Nischinta village near Bangiriposi in Mayurbhanj district today.

Panic gripped the family members of Ashok Mohapatra–a lecturer by profession – when they spotted the venomous snake moving inside his bedroom in the morning.

Mohapatra thought it was raining outside when he heard the hiss of the snake inside the room. However, he found the clear sky outside and searched the room only to find the big venomous cobra near his bed.

He immediately rushed out of the room with other members and locked it from outside before informing the forest officials.

The forest personnel along with trained snake men rushed to the spot and rescued the reptile unhurt before releasing it into the Similipal reserve.

The snake was trying to escape from the room and has not attacked anyone, forest personnel said.

Sources said, the village is situated at the foothills of Similipal biosphere reserve. Many a time, snakes including python, cobra and king cobra are found snaking into the human habitation.

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Covid-19: Is Odisha Heading Towards Chhattisgarh-Like Situation, ILS Director Clarifies

Bhubaneswar: Amid the rise in the number of daily Covid-19 positive case in Odisha, Director of the Institute of Life Sciences (ILS), Ajay Parida said the new strain of the virus which is presently spreading rapidly is more harmful than the earlier one.

“If this trend continues, a Chhattisgarh-like situation can’t be ruled out in Odisha,” Parida said on Thursday.

“The new strain is more harmful than the previous one. It is also more contagious, which is a matter of great concern,” Parida said. It is too early to predict what is going to happen in the near future, he added.

“Our research on the new strain is going on. We can’t predict now when the spread will slow down,” he said while urging people to stay alert and cautious to prevent the outbreak.

For the last few days the State has been witnessing a steady rise in the number of positive cases. Odisha reported 879 fresh cases in last 24 hours.

Out of the fresh cases, 518 tested positive from quarantine while 361 are local contacts.

With the new cases, the total count in the State jumped to 3,45,526 so far.

Khordha district continued to record maximum daily spike at 144 followed by Sundergarh which witnessed 131 news cases.

Similarly, Nuapada district stood third in the list with 61 new infections while Bargarh registered 53 cases. As many as 50 fresh cases have been detected in Cuttack while the figure in Sambalpur stood at 48.