The Nirakar Ed ucation Society, Mashem, Canacona, has called for a thorough inquiry into the death of its secretary, Nan da Satarkar, accusing medi cal negligence of contribut ing to his untimely demise. Satarkar, 71, died from a snake bite after allegedly not receiving the vital an ti-venom treatment until it was too late.
According to the soci ety's chairman, Prashant Naik, Satarkar was bitten by an unknown reptile on August 30. Despite a visi ble bite mark and swelling, the doctors at the Prima ry Health Centre (PHC) in Canacona initially dis missed the injury as an ‘unknown bite’. The medical staff ad ministered only tetanus and paracetamol injec tions and assured the fam ily that his clotting time was normal. However, they refused to administer anti-venom, citing poten tial side effects without confirming the type of snake involved. Naik charged that no fur ther diagnostic tests were performed.
Neither the Canacona PHC nor the South Goa District Hospital, where Satarkar was later transferred, conducted any further tests, he stated. Symptoms such as reduced urine output and elevated creatinine levels, which indicated worsening renal func tion, were not acted upon urgently. The necessary treat ments were delayed and there was a critical delay in trans ferring Satarkar to a more equipped facility. "The negligence and delay in his treatment ultimately led to the preventable death of Nanda Satarkar," Naik stat ed. "The medical team failed to recognise the severity of his condition in time.
His symptoms worsened, and the transfer to a better-equipped hospital came too late to save him." Satarkar was later transferred to the South Goa District Hospital, Margao, where he was prescribed an antibiotic injection, saline drip, and Glycerine Magnesium Sulphate for the swelling in his leg. However, even then, the doctors refused to administer anti-venom, citing the same con cerns over side effects. It wasn’t until the night of August 31, almost 36 hours after the snake bite, that Satarkar was moved to the Goa Medical College (GMC) in Bambolim, where doctors performed a range of tests, including ul trasound, Doppler tests, and X-rays and administered an ti-venom. Satarkar’s daughter-in-law, Neha Amonkar, expressed her grief and frustration on social media: "On September 2, 2025, we lost the pillar of our family — our beloved daddy Nanda Satarkar, due to the sheer negligence of PHC Can acona, South Goa District Hospital, and GMC. For almost 18 hours, no anti-venom was administered.
Even when his urine output stopped and symptoms worsened, nothing was done. Finally, in desperation, we shifted him to GMC, where anti-venom was given — but by then, 38 hours had passed since the bite. It was too late. We lost him in two days. Even in GMC, although initial treatment was quick, the casual attitude of junior residents and their ignorance of critical symptoms led to his painful death.”