A cobra was found in an almirah at an anganwadi centre at at Bangarucheruvu Gattu near Palakol a few days ago. The reptile also ate up eggs meant for distribution to the beneficiaries as part of the Take Home Ration (THR) programme.
The cobra reportedly entered into the anganwadi through the damaged windows. The government is running a ward secretariat and an anganwadi out of the building of a closed Urdu elementary school.
Anganwadi teachers Naga Lakshmi and Ayah Dhana Lakshmi found the cobra in the almirah and alerted the locals. When the staff tried to catch the reptile, it escaped into the nearby bushes.
“There is an abandoned tank behind the anganwadi, in which some chicken shops are dumping their waste. Bushes have also grown up surrounding it. Snakes and other reptiles are slithering into the houses in the area. We are living in a fear,” said a local resident.
West Godavari District Women Development and Child Welfare Project Director K. Vijaya Lakshmi said steps would be taken to take up the repairs to the anganwadi immediately.
“Venomous snakes are moving freely in the area. As the anganwadi remained closed for the last few months in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic, a major tragedy was averted. We request the government to shift the anganwadi and the ward secretariat immediately,” said a parent.
Sanitation drive
Palakol Municipal Corporation Commissioner N. Pramod Kumar said instructions have been issued to clean the premises of the anganwadi and the ward secretariat and their surrounding areas.
“Estimates have been prepared to clear the bushes and take up a sanitation drive in the pond near the anganwadi,” he said.
