5 feet Indian cobra rescued from house in the heart of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar after 3-day operation

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: A five-foot Indian cobra, which hid inside wall cracks in a house Kailas Nagar, was successfully rescued after a three-day operation on Monday.

Animal rescuer Manoj Gaikwad said the operation was the longest in the history of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. "The house, where the venomous serpent hid, is old. It has walls with many deep cracks. Such a structure gives ample space for the snake to hide and move," he said.

Rescuers used water from multiple tankers to try to flush it. "As water was poured continuously into the wall cracks, the snake came out after three days. We got hold of it using the ‘no touch' method that involved a camouflaged pipe with a large sack attached. The snake was released into its natural habitat thereafter," Ashish Joshi, who was also part of the rescue team, said.

Along with Gaikwad and Joshi, a large team of other rescuers, including Shubham Salwe, Suraj Pankhade, Chidambar Kale and Deepak Watane, was involved in the operation.

The affected family took shelter in the house of neighbours till the rescue operation was on.

It was the 45th rescue of an Indian cobra and other venomous snakes from in and around the city in the past six months. Experts have also rescued and released as many as 71 non-venomous snakes.