Vava Suresh, Kerala's renowned snake handler, battling for life after being bitten by cobra

File Photo (IANS)

New Delhi: Vava Suresh, Kerala's most popular snake catcher, is battling for his life at the intensive care unit of the Kottayam Medical College hospital after being bitten by a cobra on Monday (January 31, 2022).

The doctor's attending on him said that he continues to be critical, but there has been a slight improvement from the condition that he was brought to the hospital from a private medical facility.

"Vava Suresh is now on a ventilator and is responding to medicine. His health condition has improved after 18 hours. Now his blood pressure and heartbeat are normal," ANI quoted Dr Jayakumar TK, Superintendent, Government medical college-hospital, Gandhinagar, Kottayam, as saying.

Suresh was reportedly bit on his right thigh while he was trying to put the poisonous reptile into a gunny bag near Kurichy in Kottayam on Monday evening.

Congress leader and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor expressed that he is sorry to hear the news and said that the last time this happened, he had visited Suresh in hospital and was relieved at how well he had recovered.

"May God save him to continue his brave services to the people of Thiruvananthapuram," Tharoor said in a tweet.

Sorry to hear that. The last time this happened I visited him in hospital and was relieved at how well he recovered. May God save him to continue his brave services to the people of Thiruvananthapuram. #VavaSuresh https://t.co/ZLuC305YQr

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) January 31, 2022

As per reports, even though Suresh was bitten and the cobra was trying to get away, he caught it and asked the people to rush him to the nearest hospital. After being administered anti-venom, the 48-year-old was shifted to the state-run Kottayam Medical College hospital.

Suresh, in a career spanning over two decades, has reportedly caught more than 50,000 snakes, which includes more than 200 King cobras. He, however, has also suffered close to 300 snake bites.