Hyderabad: Monkey menace in the city is increasing by the day. They are almost everywhere around now. The animals turn violent, bite the victims by entering homes and shops or those walking in the streets, grab edibles and even damage or destroy things.
There are many instances of simians waking into the kitchens, opening refrigerators and eating as much as they can. After this, they also make it a point to spoil or destroy the leftovers.
More curiously, these animals often outsmart the humans and demonstrate more intelligence by easily dodging the traps set for them in residential areas.
“Monkeys are all across the city as well as on the outskirts,” say the staff at the Government Fever Hospital at Nallakunta, which has an exclusive wing administering vaccination for animal bites. At least two monkey bite victims visit this hospital for treatment every month, they say.
Santeetha, a home-maker, recalled a horrifying experience she had in West Marredpally. “Descending from trees in the locality, a troop attacked my husband, my mother-in-law and some relatives the other day. They did it all of a sudden. We were around six people and the monkeys were fearlessly charging towards us,” she said.
Nallakunta, Vidyanagar, Padma Colony, Dayanandnagar, Sainagar, Achut Reddy Marg, Barkatpura, Ramalayam Lane, Habsiguda, Ramnagar, Rajendernagar etc., are localities where simians are on the prowl day and night.
Retired SBI officer M Vidyamani, a resident of Vidyanagar, said, “I am living here for the past 30 years. We are putting up with monkey menace for a long time. They jump in and ransack the whole house. The children in the area rarely play outside of their homes. Maids refuse to come and work in houses haunted by monkeys. They are too scared.”
She added, “Several complaints have been lodged, but no use, you know.” GHMC officers, when contacted for a response, refused to offer any comment.
