Madhya Pradesh Forest Department To Launch Snake-Catcher App Soon

Soon, smartphone users in Madhya Pradesh will be able to locate the nearest trained snake rescuer and call them -- a process as easy as booking a cab.

But behind the unusual idea is a grim statistic.

Madhya Pradesh reported 27 snakebite deaths in 2025, more than double the 12 deaths reported in 2024. The state had recorded 12 deaths in 2023 as well. The figures come from the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme-Integrated Health Information Platform (IDSP-IHIP) and were presented to the Lok Sabha by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on March 30.

Across India, 431 snakebite deaths were reported on the platform in 2025, up from 370 in 2024 and 183 in 2023. The number of reported snakebite cases in Madhya Pradesh has also risen sharply. According to another set of IDSP-IHIP figures placed before Parliament, the state reported 1,208 snakebite cases in 2022, 1,479 in 2023 and 3,334 in 2024, meaning reported cases in 2024 were nearly three times the 2022 figure.

Hence, Madhya Pradesh Forest Department is preparing to launch SHIVAA, a digital platform intended to connect citizens with trained snake rescuers and guide snakebite victims toward treatment.

The application is scheduled to be rolled out during Wildlife Week, October 2-8.

In simple terms, the system aims to create something Madhya Pradesh has never had before: a digitally mapped network of authorised snake rescuers that citizens can access during an emergency.  When somebody reports a snake, the application will guide them on maintaining a safe distance and spell out what they should and should not do until a trained rescuer arrives.

That distinction could be critical. Snake encounters frequently trigger panic, attempts to catch or kill the reptile, or dependence on untrained local handlers, all of which can increase the risk of a bite. And if the snake has already bitten someone, the app is designed to become a medical emergency tool.

Users will be given first-aid instructions, warnings against potentially dangerous practices and information about nearby hospitals and health facilities where anti-snake venom is available. The idea is to cut the delay between a bite and appropriate medical treatment, often the most crucial window in a snakebite emergency.

The Union government itself has identified snakebite as a major public-health challenge and launched the National Action Plan for Prevention and Control of Snakebite Envenoming, with the goal of halving snakebite deaths by 2030.

There is another side to SHIVAA, and this is where the project becomes more than a rescue app. For the first time, the Forest Department wants to create a digital trail for snake rescues. Registered rescuers can be listed on the platform along with details of their training and proficiency. Each operation can potentially record where the snake was found, the species involved, who rescued it and where it was subsequently released.

That could allow the government to identify snake-conflict hotspots across Madhya Pradesh and plan awareness programmes, rescue resources and medical preparedness accordingly.  The department also plans to train Home Guards, frontline Forest Department personnel and volunteers in safe snake rescue and release.

The app also seeks to address a far less visible problem. Until now, once an informal snake catcher removed a snake from a house or colony, there was often little way for authorities or the person who called the rescuer to know what happened to the reptile afterwards. Forest officials have received inputs alleging that some snakes rescued by informal handlers may not always be released into forests under departmental supervision. There are also concerns that snakes could potentially be diverted into illegal trade, including for their venom.

SHIVAA's proposed digital documentation of rescue and release is aimed at closing precisely that gap. Under the proposed system, rescued snakes are to be released according to defined protocols, including release into appropriate protected or notified forest areas under Forest Department supervision.