Popular snake charmer ‘Pambu Murugan’ dies

Coimbatore, Aug 23 (PTI) The city’s renowned snakecharmer, ‘Pambu Murugan,’ who had reportedly captured nearly20,000 snakes and saved several lives in the last threedecades, died here today. He was bedridden for the last two days due toill-health and he died this morning, his family said. Popularly known as ‘Pambu Murugan,’ (Snake Murugan)the 52-year-old started catching snakes, as a passion, at theage of 12, which later became his profession and in the last35 years, he had reportedly captured over 20,000 snakes,including most venomous ones, family sources said. Services of Murugan were requisitioned in Governmentoffices, police department, schools and educationalinstitutions to capture venomous snakes like Cobra and Viper. In the process, he had also saved many human lives,they said. A venomous snake had bitten Murugan in 2012, while hewas attempting to bring it out from a hole.Subsequently, hewas hospitalised and the district administration helped him torecover, by extending both financial and medical aid at theGovernment Hospital here. He used to release his catch to the jungles or handthem over to the forest department and never harmed or killedthe snakes, the sources said. Murugan used to take anti-venom treatment at regularintervals, to prevent poison entering his veins, fearingdeath, they said. He is survived by wife and two children. PTI NVM ROHBN