Mumbai: Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamana has questioned the media's coverage of Salman Khan being bitten by a snake at his Panvel farmhouse recently.
In its editorial, Saamna pointed out that while deaths due to snakebite go unreported in the country, Salman Khan's 'harmless and friendly' incident hogged the headlines for days.
"Nowadays, the soul of a news report depends upon who is the newsmaker. In this case, the creator of the news was none other than Salman Khan, a bigshot in the Bollywood industry. Salman has a huge fan base and on a few occasions, he also courted controversy. Salman is also known for his philanthropy as well. But, what is uncommon about this news report was that the snakebite was a friendly one. Salman snakebite incident was harmless," the editorial read.
Stating that such news usually finds brief space within a newspaper, the Shiv Sena mouthpiece said: "In India, at least one lakh snakebite cases are reported annually, and it is also not the case that these reports are not carried by the newspapers and media houses. But, such reports are relegated to inside pages or not given that much prominence".
"In India, Maharashtra tops the chart in the number of snakebite cases. At least 35,000 to 40,000 snakebite cases are reported in Maharashtra annually. In 2018-19, around 42,000 people had suffered from snakebite and at least four to five thousand deaths had been reported. Nashik, Thane, Palghar, Kolhapur and Sangli are the worst affected districts in Maharashtra where a maximum number of snakebite cases were reported. Konkan region in Maharashtra is the home to most poisonous snakes in the country," the editorial read giving information about the snakebite scenario in the state.
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