Keonjhar: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued conditional summons afresh to District Collectors (DCs) of Keonjhar, Mayurbhanj, and Bhadrak to appear before the commission at 11:00 am, April 10 along with detailed Action Taken Report (ATR) including the status of payment of ex-gratia amount to the family members of the deceased persons in snakebite cases.
Considering the petition filed by lawyer and rights activist Radhakanta Tripathy and the reports submitted by the Center and state authorities, the NHRC passed the order. Tripathy, alleged that about 58,000 innocent persons die each year in the country due to snake bites. He further alleged that due to the negligence of the Education department and district administration of Keonjhar, three students died after a venomous snake bit them while they were sleeping inside a coaching centre in Nischitapur area in Keonjhar July 22 last year. Snakebite deaths alone account for more than 40 per cent of the total disaster deaths, and snakebite death cases in Odisha were more than double the average in the year 2021 especially due to a shortage of anti-snake venom stocks in the government-run-health facilities. The AVS (Anti Venom Serum) is also not easily available in the open market in Odisha. Pursuant to NHRC notice, both Center and state and the DCs of Boudh and Bolangir submitted requisite reports.
However, the DC, Keonjhar has yet not reported regarding payment of ex-gratia amount to the family members of the deceased children. Similarly, the requisite reports from the DCs of Mayurbhanj and Bhadark have also not been received, the NHRC observed.