The effort of the Government to dispel blind faith from the minds of the people seems to have gone to waste as in an incident of snakebite, villagers in West Karbi Anglong are waiting for quacks (kaviraj) to give life to a man who has already been declared by doctors as ‘dead’.
The Gaon Burha of Diklempur village under Kheroni Police Station in West Karbi Anglong district was bitten by a snake on Monday morning and he died in the afternoon.
The 70-year-old Gaon Burha, Gupendra Biswas, received a snakebite on his left hand in the July 23 morning while working near his home in Diklempur village at around 8 am. Immediately after being bitten, a rag was tied around his hand and everything was alright as he was taken by his family members to Lanka for medical treatment.
“But before reaching Lanka town, the family members of the victim, came to know about a quack (kaviraj) and got down to treat Biswas by the quack. The quack claimed that Biswas was treated and there was nothing to worry about as his hand was ‘untied’. Biswas reached home but in the afternoon his health deteriorated and fell unconscious,” said locals.
Biswas was immediately taken to HAM Hospital in Hojai where the doctors declared him brought dead. But, the family members of Biswas firmly believed that the quacks would be able to bring him back to life.
It is more than 24 hours till filing of this report that one after another quack has been trying to give life to the deceased. The deceased’s family members said that if an expert quack comes along he would get his life back.
Meanwhile, hundreds of people have gathered at the victim’s house with a hope to see the quacks doing miracle though it is a known fact that nothing such miracle would happen.