JOIN USOne wonders why Madhu Suneja, a resident of Vaishali steps out of her home with a baton in hand.
It is for none other than monkeys in the area. People dread to step out of their homes or open their doors, lest that friendly knock on the door turns into a nightmare
for them.
“We are just fed up with the monkey menace. They have now even gotten used to the dandas and do not get scared easily. They come in hordes, are huge in size and we are terrified to attract their attention. One cannot go to the balcony or use the stairs because monkeys are always there to pounce on us. My son has been attacked before and once a monkey snatched a bag of fruits from my husband. The scenario is getting worse by the day as their population is increasing. We have even complained about it to the administration of our apartment but nothing much has changed,” complained Suneja.
Thousands of such red-bottomed simians have become a menace in New Delhi and its adjacent areas. They roam with impunity through government buildings, run amok in offices, flinging around files, tampering with internet cables, biting people carrying food and even raiding people’s homes. In short they have made life hell for the residents of various Delhi colonies.
Another resident of Mayur Vihar Ph III, Ratna Malik, said, “Not only are they attacking people, they also relieve themselves on our terrace, balcony and at times near our doors as well. So you wake up in the morning with the stink and your day is made!”
“To add to my horror, only two days back a monkey entered my house and very easily took five bananas from the fridge in the kitchen and ran away. I could only sit terrified in one place and witness their cheeky act. We cannot even let our windows open. Also, we are scared to attack them as they are really wild and
can retaliate ferociously,” rued Malik.
A visit to the area in and around Shankar Market in Connaught Place and one will be greeted by a healthy population of monkeys merrily swinging around on cables and tree branches. Small fruit and other vendors seemed to have made peace with them by offering them peanuts, bananas or bhutta, but the risk they pose to other passersby cannot be diminished.
If the simians have become the talking point for the common man, they have not even spared the rich and the famous, creating havoc in the VIP areas of New Delhi.
Various efforts are being made to tackle the monkey menace inside and around Parliament House and Rajya Sabha.
The measures include scaring the monkeys away with the help of trained people who have now taken to disguising themselves as langurs and using rubber bullets to scare them away.
An NDMC official speaking to Metrolife said, “We will be using rubber bullet guns to scare away the monkeys. A team of dog catchers also visits the Parliament House and surrounding areas twice a week for catching unimmunised and unsterilised stray dogs as well.”
The need however is quite urgent as the population of monkeys is spiralling out of control and apart from causing a lot of nuisance, pose a risk to the people.