Kamal Devkota and his team had a wonderful celebration for World Snake Day (16 July 2019) at Kaligandaki Technical School, Kawasoi, Nawalpur district for the first time in Nepal. They held an “Essay Competition” among the students of the school titled “Importance of Snake Conservation to Biodiversity”. The program was organized by Nepal Toxinology Association (NTA) and supported by Kaligandaki Hospital, Kaligandaki Technical School and Save The Snakes.
The competition was also held between the CMA, ANM, Lab Assistants, Plant JTA and Sub-overseer students of Kaligandaki Technical School. Most of the participants enthusiastically presented their talk on the “Importance of Snake Conservation to Biodiversity”. Among all the students that participated in the competition, the top three finalists were selected based on their presentation skills and the contents of their essay. Hema Poudel, Ram Bahadur Nepali and Harish Nepali won first, second and third place respectively. Dr. Chhabilal Thapa, the President of the Nepal Toxinology Association (NTA) provided a book titled “Medically Important Snakes and Snakebite Management in Nepal” to Hema Poudel, as a prize for first place. The rest of the participants and students received diaries, brochures and posters as encouragement.
Approximately 100 students were present for the program and Dr. Gopal Khanal, Chairman of the Kaligandaki Foundation, was the Chief Guest of the program. Dr. Chhabilal Thapa gave a speech on snakebite management in Nepal and Dr. Amod Ghimire shared his snakebite experiences with the students. The team leader of this program “World Snake Day 2019”, Mr. Kamal Devkota, also gave talks on snakes, snakebite and snake conservation in Nepal. Local leaders, paramedical students, lecturers and media personnel from Nawalpur F.M. and Star Television were invited for this program and Kamal and his team members were interviewed by the media. The event was a success and a great way to celebrate snakes.
