Hyderabad, January 05: A day before President Pratibha Patil arrived here for her annual southern sojourn 11 days ago, as many as 10 snakes were caught by a special team deputed by the Nehru Zoological Park at Rashtrapathi Nilayam in Bolarum. One of the snakes, a racer, was found in the president’s bathroom!
In what has become an annual ritual, the team caught 10 snakes this year including a cobra, three rat snakes, four racers and two kraits before the president’s arrival. After staying at the RP Nilayam for 11 days, the president left for New Delhi on Wednesday.
“A racer was caught in the president’s bathroom a day before the VVIP arrived here. They caught the snakes in the vicinity of the main house. Kraits are four times more poisonous than the Indian cobra,” Nehru Zoological Park assistant curator S Ramesh told TOI.
The cobra has been put on display at the zoo, while other reptiles have been set free in the snake safari. Last year, the zoo officials had caught 12 snakes.
—-Courtesy:TOI