Snake in Mumbai local train create chaos on the move
New Delhi : Be careful! Now, along with humans, snakes or other dangerous reptile may take the pleasure of train travel. Well, the wired news hit the headlines when a snake was spotted inside a CSMT-bound local train, which led to chaos in the coach on Thursday morning. The green color was spotted by a passenger right before the train entered Thane station. Later, commuters released it on the tracks before authorities could reach the spot, sources said.
“The train was CSMT bound. It stopped a little ahead from where it was supposed to, as someone had pulled the chain,” said Titwala resident Sanjay Gurav, who works in an IT firm in Vikhroli. The snake was spotted while it was trying to climb a handle-bar near the door of a first-class general coach, sources said. The train had resumed from Titwala.
“The snake caused a lot of chaos. Some of the commuters had the presence of mind to switch off the fan that was close to the snake. Some passengers tried to ensure that no one tried to jump out of the train. But it was scary,” another passenger, Santosh Shinde, who was going to Vidyavihar, said. While both Gurav and Shinde did not see who managed to catch and release the snake. “When the train stopped at the station, I got off, hoping to take the next train,” Shinde, a student and a part-time delivery boy, said.
Some travellers claimed that the snake must have been in the train from the start of the scheduled journey and accused the railway authorities for not cleaning empty coaches properly. However, the authorities dismissed the claim.
Central Railway spokesperson Sunil Udasi said that it was no accident but a mistake. “The train had completed two trips to and from Titwala at that point. Why would the snake not show up before? We are investigating and have asked the RPF to check the CCTV footage. We are checking with animal activists and snake experts to understand how the snake reached there,” he said. Sarpamitras from Thane and the nearby areas have been alerted, sources said.
“Snakes are generally more visible in the rains. The snake might have made its way over to the roof of the train through a high tree branch and then came in through a window. While the snake cannot be identified, it seems to be a native medium venomous one,” a sarpamitra from Kalyan said.
