‘Idol-guarding snake’ video not shot in Sadashivgad: Locals, officials

Karwar: The video clip and a few photographs of a cobra protecting a broken idol of Lord Shiva on a hill, which is being levelled, has gone viral on social media. The officials and locals working at the site have debunked the claim that the incident had happened in Sadashivgad on the outskirts of Karwar. They assert that it is fake news.

A five-foot cobra, with its hood open, guarding the idol which was apparently found beneath the ground during excavation is shown in the three-minute video. The workers can be seen attempting to drive away the cobra, but to no avail. Even after boulders are showered close to the cobra using earthmovers, the cobra stood its ground. The people in the video are heard speaking Marathi and the video has been in circulation for a week now.

The area where the hill is being levelled, resembles Sadashivgad fort in Sadashivgad here, but the workers and  officials of the contract company which carrying the levelling work have made it clear that no such incident has taken place there. Sadashivgad, being a border town, has a large number of Konkani- and Marathi-speaking people.

“We suspect that the incident might have happened in a coastal area of Maharashtra. Someone might have mistaken the place to be Sadashivgad, triggering the rumour,” an official said.

Sadashivgad fort is an ancient hill fort, built on a 200 feet high hill-top. It was built in 1715 AD by Basavling Raja of Sonda and named it as Sadashivgad after his father Sadashivling Raja. The Portuguese, Marathas and British have captured the fort near Kali River during different times.

The hill is currently being leveled by the district administration for widening National Highway-66. The hill was first divided into two to build a road in early ’80s.Once can witness the confluence of Kali river and the Arabian Sea, from the top of this hill.

The viral ‘Idol-guarding snake’ video has brought the area into “limelight” and boosted its tourism potential with the increase in visitors form Karwar and Goa.