Yesterday, this paper carried a front-page report on how people were hospitalised after being stung by stingrays at Girgaum during the Ganesh immersion. The devotees felt a sharp pain in the lower part of their bodies, when they emerged from the sea; it was revealed that the fish had stung them. Luckily, they were non-poisonous bites.

While they all seem out of danger, let us never forget a lesson learnt from Australian environmentalist and television personality Steve Irwin’s death in 2006. Irwin succumbed to his injuries after a stingray pierced his heart while he was filming off North Queensland. It just proved that stingray wounds in rare cases could be fatal.