It's not just water, but snakes too which are slithering their way into homes of flood-hit Hyderabadis and giving people the fright of their lives.

On September 20, a few CRPF personnel came across a nine-foot-long python devouring a dog, a black Labrador. The snake was later rescued and released in a forest area.

Such incidents are not very rare. Snakes have been leaving their natural habitats on account of flooding and seeking higher ground in areas of Golconda, Gachibowli, Kukatpally, Miyapur, Nagole, LB Nagar, Vanasthalipuram, and Hayathnagar.

A variety of snakes - spectacle cobras and rat snakes - have been spotted and rescued in the city in the last few days. But fear of snakes lurking in their locality is keeping people awake through the night, especially in areas where there have been power disruptions.

"I have not been able to sleep at night for the last four days after a snake entered my house. I had never experienced anything like that before. We tried to kill the snake, but it slipped out to the terrace and then vanished. We have been on the edge and nervy ever since," Mohammed Rafeeq, a resident of Moti Darwaza in Golconda said.

Members of Friends of Snakes Society (FOSS) said “they had on average received more rescue alerts this monsoon than in previous years. FOSS members said they expected even more calls when the rain stops and the sun is out.”

“We have been getting about 60 distress calls a day for the last five days from Hyderabad andRanga Reddy. During rains, incidents of snake sighting and rescue are comparatively low because of poor visibility and reduced human activity. The number usually increases immediately after rain stops, because many species come out in the open for basking in the sun,” FOSS general secretary Avinash Visvanathan said.

Also Read: Heavy Rains Make Life Miserable in Hyderabad

BY M. DIVYA SRI