Assam journalist dies from venomous snake bite

A pall of gloom has descended on Assam's Golaghat where a promising young journalist expired after being bitten by a venomous snake.

32-year-old Ashimjyoti Bora from Numaligarh finally breathed his last on Wednesday (August 3), several hundred kilometres away from his hometown at the Gauhati Medical College Hospital (GMCH), after efforts to save his life proved futile.

Bora was initially bitten by the venomous snake at his home on July 30. Following this, he was rushed to the nearby Vivekananda Kendra Hospital at Numaligarh Refinery for treatment.

However, doctors were unable to revive him due to the severity of the snake bite and he eventually lost consciousness.

In a last ditch effort to save him, Bora's family finally took him to the GMCH in Guwahati for better treatment on Tuesday (August 2).

There, too, all efforts to resuscitate the bitten journalist failed and he finally passed away yesterday.

For several years, Bora had been working for the vernacular Assamese newspaper - Dainik Janambhumi.

There are about 300 snake species in India, out of which 60 are believed to be venomous.

According to the World Health Organization, 5 million snake bites occur in India every year, and between 81,000 and 138,000 deaths occur as a result.

According to some estimates, the envenoming process also causes around 400,000 amputations and other disabilities in India each year.