Jamshedpur, June 16: Snake catcher N.K. Singh is nowadays busy taming deadly cobras of different sizes and colours from Telco Colony, where the recent chlorine gas leak from a water treatment plant of Tata Motors created panic among residents.

The aftermath of the gas may have subsided but it has apparently made cobras and other species of snakes come out in the open.

Singh, who trades in snake poison, is happy with the situation for more reasons than one.

Apart from collecting venom and selling it for a premium, now, he would also be able to send the cobras to his snake farm at Kuchai in adjoining West Singhbhum.

With the cobras out in the open in Telco, Singh does not have to look for poison elsewhere.

“I have caught hold of 190 cobras in a couple of days. I don’t have to put my hands deep into the pits at Truck Park because snakes can now be found at the mouth of the pits. I have also caught some cobras moving on the roads,” he said.

Singh believes that after effects of the chlorine gas leak may have forced the snakes to come out from their pits.

“The reptiles I have caught from Telco are 5-6 feet long and 1.25 to 1.50 inches thick. I have started extracting the venom and have also sent most of the snakes to my farm in Kuchai,” he said.

The 61-year-old said he extracts poison from cobras for sending them to a research unit in Visakhapatnam.

“I would be sending the poison to a laboratory in Visakhapatnam. The authorities of the snake poison research centre in Visakhapatnam process the venom before sending them to Germany,” he told The Telegraph.

When asked on how much he gets for the venom, Singh replied: “The research centre pays me Rs 2.5 lakh for 30ml of cobra venom. However, the same is sold for Rs 7.5 lakh in the international market.”

A former employee of Tata Steel, Singh has been catching snakes for nearly four decades. He moves around the city with his mobile phones and is available easily.

“I have always been captivated by the dangerous cobras. I have so far caught thousands of cobras from the city and other districts of Jharkhand,” he said.

He said he extracts the poison by using injections. “The needle is softly injected into the gland inside the mouth of the cobra to extract venom. I don’t extract the full poison from the gland as it would develop complications for the snake. The gland is located behind the teeth of the cobra,” he said.

Singh hoped that he can extract about 5 grams (15ml) of venom from the cobras that he caught in Telco. “In comparison to the international market, I do not get much for the poison. But I’m very much happy with whatever I’m getting. Authorities at Visakhapatnam sometimes make advance payments also,” he added.