Snake charmers have given the all clear for United States President George Bush to go ahead with plans to deliver a speech from a medieval fort in New Delhi during his three-day India visit, officials said on Wednesday.
City police roped in the snake charmers after curators of Purana Qila expressed concern that reptiles would gatecrash Bush’s scheduled address on Friday from the 16th-century ramshackle fort.
“It was part of our drill to sanitise the fort as it is flanked by a porous zoo on one side and a large lake on the other, and the president will be delivering his address from a lawn which has shrubs on its fringes,” a senior police officer said.
The snake charmers, who are often accused of clandestinely trading in reptilian products despite a national ban, completed their search of the area on Monday, but would sweep the Mughal-built edifice again on Thursday, said the officer, who asked not to be named.
Experts, however, said it was wasteful exercise. “At one point of time the Purana Qila teemed with various species of cobras, but tourism and the city bustle have forced them into retreat, possibly into the zoo,” said wildlife enthusiast RP Kataria. “There could be water snakes in the lake but they are harmless,” he said. — AFP