Kerala villagers launch snail-hunt

After their lives became miserable because of the onslaught of snails, a panchayat in Kerala was forced to launch a snail eradication campaign to free the area of the slow-moving creature.

Around one lakh snails were killed yesterday alone in the Konni village panchayat in Pathanamthitta district, the civic unit secretary Haribalan said.

Since it is bigger than the normal type of snail found in Kerala, the villagers call it the African snail, believed to have made its way into the plains of Kerala from the Western Ghats.

The fast-breeding mollusk has emerged as a serious threat to farming. The villagers were compelled to launch the snail-hunt as the slimy insect began moving into the houses leaving a sticky trail in its wake.

"Some of these snails are as long 21cm and with a height of up to 7cm. They attack crops like plantaine, tapioca and other tuber crops. They could be scale up the coconut palms and damage tender nuts," the Konni panchayat secretary KN Haribalan said.

They mostly come out after dusk and could be seen moving up the walls of the houses. The ugly creature would sneak anywhere including kitchens or dining rooms, making in a nauseating sight, a villager said.

It was joint operation launched by the panchayat with the support of the health and agriculture department and local self help groups.

The snails were annihilated by sprinkling a mixture of tobacco and salt. They were then mass-buried in a pit.

According to a study done by experts at the Forest Research Institute, the African snail might have got into the place some consignment brought from some other place.

Only one snail might have came to the village during the time but it might have multiplied manifolds after laying eggs, the study said.

According to experts, a single snail would lay one thousand eggs and 80 per cent of them would hatch. They not only eat farm  products but also relish wastes thrown around," a villager said.