Vadodara: Four-foot-long crocodile jumps out of drain hole, caught before causing harm

VADODARA: Rain-battered residents of a colony on Waghodia Road in the city got a wild shock after opening the cover of a drainage line to discharge rainwater on Tuesday evening. A crocodile jumped out of the drainage hole and began swimming around in the water on the road.
Initially, the residents of Pooja Park Society panicked and stayed away from the four-feet-long reptile. But soon, some gathered courage and decided to rescue it. They were afraid that the reptile may attack someone and disappear as the whole area was under water.
“Some of the residents caught the crocodile with their bare hands. It tried to evade the trap, but the people managed to rescue it and tie it with ropes in a corner in the colony,” a volunteer from the forest department told TOI.
“They (locals) then called up the forest department. It’s very surprising as common people generally don’t dare to go near a reptile but these residents caught it and none of them suffered any injury either,” he added. Dozens of people from the vicinity gathered to catch a glimpse of the visiting crocodile.
The forest department has been conducting awareness campaigns and asking people to stay away from the water-bodies that have crocodiles. Also, people are asked to call up either NGOs or forest department if they spot a snake or crocodile in their vicinity.