Maharashtra to catch cobras for Nag Panchami sparks outrage
The Maharashtra Forest Department just approved catching 21 male Indian cobras from Shirala tehsil for "educational purposes"—and it's causing quite a stir.
Wildlife activists worry this move, announced by M Srinivasa Rao, the principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife) and chief wildlife warden, on July 28, could break wildlife protection laws if not properly monitored.
Controversy deepens as local MLA weighs in
What really raised eyebrows? The order came right before Nag Panchami (July 29), a festival where locals traditionally catch and worship snakes—a practice the courts restricted back in 2002 to protect the animals.
Critics say this new directive might undo those protections and put cobras at risk.
Meanwhile, local MLA Satyajit Deshmukh feels the order threatens an old tradition, so the debate between conservation and culture is heating up again.