Three-year-old dies of snake bite in Sector 117, RWA demands cleaning of empty plots
According to Kulsinder Yadav, president of Sector 117 RWA, the child was bit by a snake early Thursday, around 2.30am while she was sleeping
After a three-year-old girl died of a snake bite on Thursday morning in Sector 117, the residents’ welfare association (RWA) of the sector has demanded that the Noida authority carry out cleaning of empty plots regularly so that such incidents does not recur.
According to Kulsinder Yadav, president of Sector 117 RWA, the child was bit by a snake early Thursday, around 2.30am while she was sleeping.
“There are several empty plots in our sector and some migrant workers have made temporary shanties near them and are living in them. Last night, around 2.30am, Santosh Ahliwal, who works as a mason in the sector, woke up to his daughter Rani’s screams. At first, Ahliwal and his wife thought their daughter had a nightmare but when she didn’t stop, they took her to a nearby hospital. However, before they reached there, Rani had turned blue and doctors declared her dead on arrival. The doctors informed the parents that their child had been bitten by a snake in the leg,” said Yadav.
When the family returned to their shanty, they found a snake in the bed in which they were sleeping, he added.
“By this time, other residents of the sector had also gathered near Ahliwal’s shanty. We tried to capture the snake, but it slithered away,” said Yadav.
Ahliwal has now left for his village in Hamirpur district to carry out the last rites for his daughter, said the other residents.
“There are many plots are lying vacant in sectors 116 and 117, where overgrown bushes have become a safe spot for poisonous reptile. Residents are forced to live in fear as snakes are often spotted around the sector. Now, we have lost a young child to snake bite. We have requested the Noida authority to clean all empty plots in the sector so that such an unfortunate incident does not recur,” said Yadav.
Pawan Yadav, vice-president of Federation of Noida RWA (FONRWA), said, “It is not just sectors 116 and 117, the issue of unattended empty plots is one that plagues all sectors of Noida. We request the Noida authority to carry out a drive across the city to clean such empty plots.”
Shripal Bhati, Noida authority’s deputy general manager (civil), said they have take note of the incident and will do the needful.
“We have deputed officers to carry out a survey of sectors and clean all empty plots, as per the requests of residents,” he said.
Earlier in May this year, a nine-year-old girl ended up in an ICU for several days after a snake bit her while she was playing near her home in Sector 105.
RL Verma, general secretary of HIG Flats Residents’ Welfare Association, said the girl is back home now but is yet to recover fully. “Her nervous system has not recovered completely and she is still bedridden, her family has told us,” said Verma.
