But somewhere down the line, these traditions lost their meaning and became plain ceremonies and rituals. Similarly, Nag Panchami is celebrated with fervor. We perform a puja, pay obeisance to the snake only for that day and the next day if it crosses our path we are scared to death and kill it. Rampant killing of the snake has led to enormous increase in the number of rodents, which in turn destroy food grain. The number is likely to increase if the number of snakes continues to decrease at todays pace.
Legal restrictions can control the destuction to some exent.
The Wild Life Protection Act of 1972 passed by the Government of India has included all Indian snakes in the list of animals to be protected from being killed. The Act also bans sale of items made from snake skin. Exceptional import licenses are issued, but strictly for scientific purposes. Snakes will continue to be killed until we all learn to observe these rules.