Ratnagiri (Maharashtra): An eight-foot-long crocodile was rescued from a roadside drain in the tourist resort of Chiplun in Maharashtra's coastal Ratnagiri district, officials said on Tuesday.
A video of the reptile emerging out of the drain has gone viral on the internet. The incident occurred in Chiplun's Dadar area, leading to confusion about whether it happened in suburban Mumbai.
Forest officials said that the incident occurred last Friday (July 26) when Ratnagiri was lashed by heavy rain leading to floods in the Vashishti River, which originates in the coastal district.
The crocodile is suspected to have entered the town's drainage system which was flooded due to the water overflow from the nearby river. Locals alerted the fire brigade and the Forest Department after they heard some strange sounds emanating from the drain as the huge reptile struggled to escape.
"This is quite common in this region during the monsoon. We rescued this crocodile safely. Since it had not suffered any injuries, it was released back into the river," Divisional Forest Officer V. K. Surve told IANS.
"I have been barraged with calls... I have said it's the Dadar area of Chiplun and not the Dadar of Mumbai," Surve said with a laugh.
He said that apart from this incident, the Divisional Forest Office handles calls to rescue other reptiles like snakes, and last month it rescued a leopard trapped during a torrential downpour.
With a population of around 55,000, Chiplun town, 325 kms south of Mumbai is a popular tourist resort and famed for its Alphonso mangoes and kokam, the Savatsada Waterfalls, the Parshuram Temple and other temples, plus a Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Museum.
