Agra May 31 (IANS) The presence of a snake at the water treatment plant here led to temporary disruption of its operations following which the reptile was caught and later released into the wild.
The five-feet reptile later identified as a rat snake was rescued by Wildlife SOS late Wednesday night from the bed filter area of the Jeoni Mandi water treatment plant.
The snake was kept under observation for a few hours and later released into its natural habitat away from human habitation a Wildlife SOS official said.
Plant Safety Officer Raghvendra Singh said: "As the Yamuna river is located nearby snakes often enter the plant premises through water pipelines to seek refuge in bed filters. Thankfully the Wildlife SOS team rescued the animal."
Rat snakes (Ptyas mucosa) or oriental rat snake are often misidentified as the highly venomous cobra due to their resemblance and are met with hostility and fear.

--IANS bk/tsb/bg