Patuakhali entrepreneur believes local antivenom production could cut imports and create jobs
50 MIN(s) ago
Sohrab Hossain
Every year, many people in Bangladesh die from venomous snakebites, while hospitals across the country rely on imported antivenom that requires spending crores of taka in foreign exchange. A privately owned snake venom farm in Patuakhali hopes to reduce that dependence.Expatriate Abdur Razzak Biswas founded Bangladesh Snake Venom in Nandipara village under Madarbunia union in Patuakhali Sadar upazila in 2000.Asked what inspired the unusual venture, Razzak said he had witnessed the hardships faced by migrant workers while working as a cameraman in Saudi Arabia. After returning home, he decided to invest his savings in a business that could create local jobs.He believed that if people in his district had employment opportunities close to home, fewer would feel the need to migrate abroad.
Over the past 26 years, Razzak has built a collection of more than 250 snakes, including king cobras, monocled cobras, banded kraits, common kraits, Russell’s vipers, pit vipers and rat snakes
