1. What is Nag Panchami?
Ø Nag Panchami is a festival during which devotees worship live snakes (cobras) or images of them.
Ø Snake charmers and collectors display the reptiles in public and offer them to people for worshipping for a fee on the day of Nag Panchami that will be observed on August 11 this year.
2. Do Snakes Drink Milk on Nag Panchami ?
Ø Snakes are reptiles, not mammals to drink milk. Milk cannot be digested by reptiles and they eventually die!
Ø The Reason why snakes drink milk on nag Panchami is because they are dehydrated and stressed 30-45 days before nag Panchami by the Snake Charmers.
3. What happens to Snakes on Nag Panchami ?
Ø The commonly displayed snakes by snake charmers on Nag Panchami are common Indian cobra and Indian rat snake.
Ø These snakes are caught from wild in perfectly healthy condition 30-45 days before Nag Panchami. They are then put through a lot of cruelty. They are defanged unsurgically using cutting pliers and at times their mouth is stitched so that they cannot give the bite.
Ø Later they are closed in the round wooden basket for more than a month without any feed or water which makes them weak, dehydrated and they are left with cramped muscles which kills their speedy movement . ( Because of cramped muscles a cobra takes 20 min to 25 min to move one feet distance! )
4. Cobras are protected under wildlife act 1972 :
Ø Killing a snake like cobra or rat snake is a non-bailable offence under the Wildlife Protection Act (WLP- section 09- Prohibition of Hunting) and considering the fact that the cobra is protected under the Schedule II, Part II of the act.
Ø The punishments may vary from a three year imprisonment to a fine, or both as per the placement of the species under the schedules.
5. What happens if the snake charmers escape with the snakes on the day of Nag Panchami :
Ø Snakes after Nag Panchami are killed for their skin. The skin of the snake can fetch the snake charmer with anything between Rs 3000 – 5000.
HOW CAN YOU HELP?
IF YOU SEE A SNAKE CHARMER IN YOUR LOCALITY PLEASE CALL ON
99 120 341 35.
