Junagadh News - One Friendly Snake Wrangler

Mangarol Junagadh Saurastra has its friendly neighbourhood snake wrangler.

Parvin Parmar is a busy man. A driver by profession, this 35-year-old man from Mangarol in Junagadh district has an alternate identity as well.

He is a snake wrangler.

Parmar regularly receives numerous phone calls to catch snakes. This he does wilfully, as a voluntary service to the people in and around Mangarol.

He also claims to have caught over 10,000 snakes over a period of two decades.

Every day, he catches over 15 snakes from different locations and releases them at safer places, unhurt.

“A fortnight ago, I had captured a nine-foot long python from a village falling under Maliya taluka, and released it in the Gir forest,” Parmar said, adding that he has been fortunate enough not to be bitten by any snake until now.

During the cultivation and harvest seasons, Parmar attends as many as 20-25 calls daily. People in Mangarol know him as a snake expert. Now, his name has reached as far as Porbandar and Keshod. Yet, he has been offering his services without any fees.

“I never charge any money, but people pay me anything between Rs 100 and Rs 200 as compensation for conveyance.It has turned into a hobby.I just want humans and animals to be safe.

Even my family, including my two-year-old daughter,Riddhi, has become familiar with snakes,” Parmar said.