No solution yet to monkey menace in Telangana

Hyderabad: Overpopulation of monkeys and their excessive presence in human settlements has become a problem in many TS districts including Hyderabad.

Tackling this problem will cost the government Rs 30 crore according to a plan prepared by the forest department. However, the government has sanctioned only Rs 55 lakh.

Monkeys entering human habitations is a problem in many parts of the city like DD Colony, Vidyanagar, Mailardevpally, Rajendra Nagar and Marredpally. The issue is severe in Adilabad and Warangal.

The problem needs to be tackled from scratch as municipal bodies are unable to get trained monkey catchers. Apart from this monkeys can be released into the forests only if they are neutered but there are no veterinarians in Telangana who can sterilise female monkeys.

There is also a need for revising the money given to monkey catchers. A GHMC official said, “Monkey catchers will not come as the job is not remunerative. They are paid Rs 1,050 per monkey. From this they have to spend on feeding the monkeys for about a week until they recover from the sterilisation operation and undergo TB test. They have also to wait till they catch around 150 monkeys as the forest department gives permission for releasing them into forests only then.”

But there is no guarantee that the monkeys will stay in the forests as humans collect almost everything edible from there. From fruits to mhowa flowers everything is collected from forests for human consumption leaving monkeys with no choice but to enter human habitations.
 

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