In Rann of Kutch, BSF fights--scorpions, snakes too

Shaurya Karanbir Gurung

Tribune News Service

India-Pak border (Rann of Kutch), March 23

BSF personnel in the Great Rann of Kutch (Gujarat) have another adversary -- besides the enemy across the border -- to contend with: Snakes and scorpions.

Unlike their colleagues in Jammu and Kashmir who face militants' bullets, or the ones at the Indo-Bangladesh border who are kept on their toes by the security situation there, or their brethren in states affected by Left-wing extremism, the brave men in the Great Rann of Kutch also run the risk of losing their lives to snake and scorpion bites.

During a visit there in the first week of March, sources in the BSF told The Tribune that at least three cases of snake and scorpion bites are reported every month in the region.

The land areas of six creeks -- Kori, Padala, the disputed Sir Creek, Pabewari, Pir Sanai and Vianbari -- along the border are “infested” with snakes and scorpions. Other regions where bites have been reported include Lakhpat, Vighokot and the Harami Nullah.

Harami Nullah is a channel in the Vianbari Creek, which enters Pakistan through the G-pillar line of the border and re-enters India at Border Pillar 1170.

BSF Inspector-General (Gujarat Frontier) Santosh Mehra said, “Snake and scorpion bites are quite common in those areas (Great Rann of Kutch and Harami Nullah).”

An officer posted in the Rann of Kutch said: “It is the scorpions that you have to watch out for. They get inside your boots. Even if you bang your boots as a precaution, a scorpion may still remain inside -- as it may stick to the boot insides. When you put on the boots, it may sting you."

During a visit to the region in June 2013, the previous Inspector-General of the Gujarat Frontier, AK Sinha, had said that there were numerous cases of snake bites in the Rann and Creek areas.

“In the Vighokot area, one of our personnel was bitten seven times by a snake. He was airlifted and given 100 anti-venom shots here in Gandhinagar. This happened in October 2012,” Sinha had said.

A commando of the Creek Crocodile Commando, a unit of the BSF deployed for patrolling and operational duties in the Creek areas, said, "Snakes are regularly found in the land areas near the Creeks. We have killed so many of them. They can be found on trees, on our paths, almost everywhere.”

An officer of the BSF’s medical cadre said that the snakes that are found in the Rann area are vipers. “When a snake bite happens, we first give first aid. But that only delays the spread of the poison. We necessarily have to give anti-snake venom,” he said.

IG Mehra said that every border outpost in the snake-infested regions keeps a supply of anti-snake venom.

“Our men are sensitised on a regular basis. Ambulances are positioned at strategic locations. In case of snake and scorpion bites, the person is evacuated to the nearest medical outpost. I cannot recall any incident in the last couple of years in which a BSF personnel died due to scorpion or snake bite,” he said.

An officer posted in the Rann area said that BSF men might be able to lessen bites, especially during the night, by “wearing boots while going to the bathroom” and “carrying torches”.

During floods, the problem assumes a keener edge as there is no way a victim can be evacuated by land or air.

At certain times of the year, the Vigokot area gets flooded by water released from the Left Bank Outfall Drain (LBOD) in Sindh, Pakistan.

At those times, the only road -- about 100-km long -- from the border in the Vigokot area to the nearest town, Khavda, gets flooded.

The BSF does not have its own helicopter on the Gujarat frontier. The one they had had crashed in Sirohi, Rajasthan, due to technical issues five years ago.