Shimla
A special and coincidental incident came to light on World Snake Day in Shimla, when on Wednesday morning, information was received about a snake entering the residence of Himachal Pradesh Director General of Police (DGP) in Police Colony Kusumpti.
As soon as information was received in this regard at 6:49 am, the Rapid Response Team (RRT) Tutikandi of the Forest Department was immediately informed. The team was dispatched to Kusumpti at 6:53 am, just three minutes after receiving the information. The team reached the spot at 7:25 am after covering a distance of about 11 km and started the rescue operation.
Within just five minutes, i.e. at 7:30 am, a Himalayan trinket snake (Elaphe hodgsoni) was safely rescued and released at another place. This snake was of a non-venomous species and was not a threat to humans. Nevertheless, RRT carried out the operation with utmost restraint and caution.
This incident also revealed how actively RRT Tutikandi has worked in the last one and a half years. Between January 2024 and June 2025, the team received a total of 530 wildlife-related complaints, out of which successful rescue operations were carried out in 241 cases. The maximum 196 complaints were related to monkeys, while 95 complaints were received about snakes and out of them 50 snakes were rescued safely. According to the data, an average of four to five snakes are rescued every day during the monsoon.
RRT Tutikandi’s promptness and readiness has once again proved how important professional and responsible efforts are to maintain a balance between humans and wildlife. On an occasion like World Snake Day, this rescue operation not only became a symbol of awareness, but also showed that when the system is alert, even the most difficult situations can be resolved safely and peacefully.
