Mumbai: Stingray bites land 60 Ganpati devotees in hospital

At least 60 devotees who went to participate in Ganesh immersion people suffered injuries due to stingray bites at Girgaum Chowpatty on Tuesday, according to reports in various city newspapers. The injured were taken to various hospitals where their condition is said to be stable. Officials told DNA that after medical examination of the injured the wounds were most probably due to stingray or cat fish bites. “Stingray bites result in pain in the sting area. The bruises of some persons were bleeding. We cleaned and medically dressed the wounds. The patients were also administered painkillers,” Dr Mahesh Shah, deputy dean at Nair hospital, where 38 people were treated, told DNA. The paper said 11 persons were taken to GT hospital, seven to Cama hospital and four were treated at JJ hospital. [caption id=“attachment_1100783” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Devotees immerse an idol of Lorn Ganesha during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai. Reuters[/caption] Dr Shah explained that the stingray sting was not venomous, but caused irritation. Stingrays have sharp tail spines and humans are usually stung in the lower limb region, only when they may accidentally step on a stingray. Deputy municipal commissioner (zone II) Kishor Kshirsagar told the newspaper that complaints of the incidents began to come in at about 7.30pm on Tuesday, the first day of immersions in the 10-day Ganesh festival. “This is the first time we have had such an incident. When we started receiving complaints, we moved the injured to the hospital,” Kshirsagar said to DNA. One of the victims told Mid-day, “I was holding our small Ganpati idol. A few minutes after stepping into ankle-deep water, I felt something bite my left foot. I didn’t even get to see what it was, as the pain was so agonising,” Rahul Naik (18) told the city daily, adding, “At first, I thought a crab had bit my leg. It felt like a jolt of electricity ran up my leg after I was bit, but I didn’t get to see it.” Another victim, Rajeev Sangle (30) said, “It was around 6.30 pm when I was knee-deep in water for immersion. All of a sudden, I felt this thin tentacle-like thing pierce my ankle. The pain was so intense that I almost fainted. I started bleeding profusely. I didn’t get to see what had attacked us, even though there was still daylight. I take part in the idol immersions every year and this is the first time we have experienced something this unpleasant.”