Snake enters Deve Gowda’s bedroom

A rat snake slithered into the residence of former Prime Minister and JD (S) supremo H D Deve Gowda in Bangalore, sending the entire household into a tizzy.

Though the six-feet long non-poisonous reptile, which had taken shelter in Gowda’s bedroom, was caught and taken away, the entry of a snake into his house on Friday, a New Moon Day - also known as Amavasya, which is considered inauspicious - has become a source of acute anxiety to the former Prime Minister.

Gowda, who is known to be a God-fearing person with strong belief in astrology and the influence of heavenly bodies on his life, is understood to have got into a spot of bother after the episode.

The JD (S) supremo’s son and Karnataka’s Energy Minister H D Revanna is reported to have begun consulting astrologers on the significance of the snake’s entry into the Gowda’s bedroom on the night of Amavasya.

Even Gowda’s followers have started approaching astrologers to find out the possible consequences of the snake’s entry into his house. A few followers of Deve Gowda are reported to have performed rituals to protect the JD (S) supremo from any possible ill-effects of the snake’s entry.

However, the episode has turned out to be a boon in disguise at least to people residing in Gowda’s neighbourhood. For, a fairly large team of Greater Bangalore Municipal Corporation personnel descended on the area and began cleaning all the debris and shrubs.

Personally monitored by the Corporation’s Commissioner K Jairaj, the cleaning operation went on a full 12 hours till the entire neighbourood was cleared of all possible habitat for snakes.

Apart from serving a notice to the owner of a vacant site in front of Gowda’s house for not keeping it clean, the civic authorities have planned to develop a park on the shrubby hillock from where the snake could have entered the former Prime Minister’s house.