FRI scrambles to clear campus of snakes ahead of PM visit, 2 caught

DEHRADUN: Authorities at the Forest Research Institute (FRI) in Dehradun are scrambling to catch as many snakes on the campus as they can ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit on International Yoga Day on Thursday.

Dehradun district magistrate SA Murugeshan issued an order last week to the forest department to keep the ground to be used for yoga celebrations safe and clear the area of snakes and monkeys.

The department then began a drive to comb the area in search of these animals.

“I have ordered the institute to make sure that the venue is free of snakes, monkeys and trees with drooping branches to avoid any incident. The forest department was asked to take necessary steps,” Murugeshan said.

Two teams, comprising three members each and deployed at the institute on Monday, were successful in rescuing two snakes. One was caught in the presence of chief minister TS Rawat during his visit. The reptiles were later released outside the institute premises.

The staff have not encountered any monkeys near the venue so far.

The Forest Research Institute is one of the premier forestry institutes in the country.

It has dense forest cover and the campus is spread across nearly 450 hectares with a plinth area of 2.5 hectares.

Its forest is part of the Dehradun forest division and is well connected with the Mussoorie division.

The Indian Military Academy (IMA) and the Tons river form its boundary.

Snakes, leopards and other wild animals have occasionally been sighted on the campus in the past.

In March 2015, a leopard had killed a 16-year-old girl on the FRI campus. Other sporadic animal attacks have also been reported.

“Our staff is scanning the area. We don’t want any inconvenience for the participants as the campus has a dense forest,” Rajeev Dhiman, divisional forest officer, Dehradun, said.

Savita, director of the institute, who goes by her first name, said she had no information of the exercise being carried out by the department.

The yoga event has drawn an impressive response, with over 50,000 enthusiasts having registered for it already.

TO KEEP THE GROUND TO BE USED FOR YOGA DAY CELEBRATIONS SAFE, THE FOREST DEPT IS CATCHING SNAKES, MONKEYS