With floodwater continuing to surround homes in Faizullaganj, residents are now grappling with another threat — snakes and other potentially dangerous creatures entering residential areas — while thick layers of water hyacinths have accumulated across inundated pockets.
Suraj Kashyap, a Faizullaganj resident and member of Bal Mahila Sangthan, a local group involved in relief work, said several such incidents had been reported by residents. Because they had to remain alert and keep an eye on their children, another resident, Nidhi Mishra, also posted a video describing how families were struggling to sleep at night. Several residents have posted videos on social media showing the situation inside and around their homes. In one video posted on Instagram, Mama Colony resident Sonam Maurya claimed snakes were entering houses, raising concerns for children living in the flooded neighbourhood. “There are children and it is difficult to keep them safe. The sightings have added to the difficulties faced by residents of the flood-hit locality, where people have already been forced to navigate waterlogged lanes and submerged surroundings for days.
A snakebite can be fatal,” she said in the video. “We are not sleeping the entire night as we have to guard the children,” she said. Residents said the prolonged presence of stagnant floodwater and dense vegetation had made it increasingly difficult to identify or respond to animals moving through the submerged areas. With water hyacinths spreading across several stretches, residents said the stagnant water was also becoming a growing concern for children and elderly people.
