By Rounak Khare
Considered to be one of the most damaging land snail pests, the invasive Giant African Snails are overrunning the Kothrud campuses of institutions such as Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) and National Film Archives of India (NFAI), run under the same premises.
According to a news report, these snails are visible in large numbers and in clusters on walls, internal roads, floors, the compound, on trees and across plantations on the FTII land in Kothrud.
These snails became a matter of discussion among some participants at a recent film appreciation course conducted by FTII. The FTII and NFAI officials claim to not have any knowledge regarding the presence of these snails on campus, or about how dangerous they may be, but promise to look into the matter, as reported by The Indian Express.
According to a report published in Switzerland in the year 2023, the Giant African Snails can carry 36 species of pathogens. A pathogen is any agent that can cause disease or illness in a host organism. Approximately 60% out of these pathogens can infect humans.
Dr. Basudev Tripathy is a scientist and office-in-charge of Western Regional Centre of Zoological Survey of India in Pune. It is a harmful pest that causes extensive damage to agriculture and native plants, according to Dr Tripathy. He has stated in a news report that these snails have invaded not just Pune, but also several other parts of the country. He claims to have witnessed these snails in the Kendriya Vidyalaya premises in Dehu Road a few years back.
The security guards outside FTII have claimed that the presence of these snails is more visible during monsoons. According to Dr. Tripathy, there is no single solution to this problem, and that it requires a multi-pronged approach of spraying certain chemicals and eradicating the Giant African Snails physically.