Kolkata: The class 3 student who had been bitten by a snake in the school washroom has been back home from the hospital for a day but is yet to overcome the trauma.
Speaking to TOI, her mother said, “She is absolutely fine now but to determine whether the snake was venomous, she had to undergo several blood tests. So, both her hands are a bit tender. She is also still in trauma and asks us to accompany her every time she goes to the washroom. On Friday, I joined office, but her attendant has informed me of the same thing. We are constantly trying to boost her confidence.”
Recalling the incident, the student’s mother said the child’s friend’s father had called the attendant to ask her to check the girl’s leg for bite marks. “The attendant took a picture of the bite mark and sent it to me. I told my mother to take her to the hospital emergency, and I left for the hospital as well. The doctors had to do a lot of blood tests to figure out if it was non-venomous or if it was slow-acting poison,” she said.
The family learnt from others that after the incident, when the child informed the class teacher, she dismissed it as a joke. Her mother said, “I’m surprised by the approach of her class teacher. How could she ignore this? The graver concern here is that the rest of the class, even the monitor, told the class teacher. But she still ignored it. Consequently, the rest of the class didn’t go to the toilet after that. What worries me is that if the teacher had responded, the school authorities, I’m sure, would have secured that washroom. But since she didn’t take any action, it remained open for other children to use as well.”
However, she still has faith in the school authorities, as they remained in constant touch with the family after receiving the information. The principal visited the hospital multiple times and was present when the child was discharged.