Child bitten by snake in Sabarimala

SABARIMALA: A six-year-old girl was bitten by a snake while travelling to Sannidhanam. Niranjana, the daughter of Kattakkada native Prashanth, was bitten by a snake at the first bend of Swami Ayyappan Road at around 4 am yesterday. The preliminary conclusion is that the girl was bitten by a viper.

The girl was taken to Pampa Government Hospital and given an anti-venom injection and later shifted to Kottayam Medical College Hospital. Officials said that the child's health condition is satisfactory. Following the incident, Devaswom Minister K Radhakrishnan held a discussion with Forest Minister AK Saseendran. At present, two snake catchers of the Forest Department are in the region. Two more people will be appointed. Beat Forest Officers have also been deployed to assist the pilgrims on the forest route.