<p>The New Delhi Municipal Council has failed to tackle monkey menace in its areas over six months after the council took major initiatives to curb the problem.<br /><br />Last year, the council was flooded with complaints from the VVIP areas — including, Parliament House, Rashtrapati Bhawan and Udyog Bhawan — and was asked to come up with solutions promptly to minimise the menace.<br /><br />“We are doing our bit. The changes are not quite perceptible yet,” said Jalaj Shrivastava, Chairperson, New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC). <br /><br />The arrangements have fallen short with a rise in number of monkeys in the areas under council’s jurisdiction in the past few months, said a senior official. <br /><br />The council’s vision in driving away monkeys with rubber bullets, men posing as langurs and non-lethal wires have also not effectively taken off, the official added. Around 40 men were pressed into service as langurs in areas with highest concentration of monkeys.<br /><br />“Nothing really changed in spite of the plans for the project. The number of monkeys is also too large to be managed,” said the official.<br />Rubber bullets<br /><br />The NDMC started using rubber bullet launchers instead of air guns as the latter often cause damage to the animal’s skin. The launcher can fire up to 30 bullets in a minute. <br /><br />Each bullet has a range of 200 feet and gets stuck to the monkey with a sticky substance. <br /><br />A small amount of carbon-dioxide pressure helps fire the bullet.<br /><br />“There are currently 13 rubber bullet launchers. Initially, we had procured two which we had used on an experimental basis,” said a source in the public health department of the NDMC.<br /><br />The NDMC has also discontinued its plans of providing food for monkeys in the Delhi Ridge areas, which has a high concentration of monkeys. It had coordinated with the Forest Department to ensure that the monkeys would be provided with chana, fruit and raw vegetables on a monthly budget of Rs 1 lakh.<br /><br />Though initially the council had said the project would continue for a year, it was discontinued after a few months as it was “not sustainable”, said another official. </p>
<p>The New Delhi Municipal Council has failed to tackle monkey menace in its areas over six months after the council took major initiatives to curb the problem.<br /><br />Last year, the council was flooded with complaints from the VVIP areas — including, Parliament House, Rashtrapati Bhawan and Udyog Bhawan — and was asked to come up with solutions promptly to minimise the menace.<br /><br />“We are doing our bit. The changes are not quite perceptible yet,” said Jalaj Shrivastava, Chairperson, New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC). <br /><br />The arrangements have fallen short with a rise in number of monkeys in the areas under council’s jurisdiction in the past few months, said a senior official. <br /><br />The council’s vision in driving away monkeys with rubber bullets, men posing as langurs and non-lethal wires have also not effectively taken off, the official added. Around 40 men were pressed into service as langurs in areas with highest concentration of monkeys.<br /><br />“Nothing really changed in spite of the plans for the project. The number of monkeys is also too large to be managed,” said the official.<br />Rubber bullets<br /><br />The NDMC started using rubber bullet launchers instead of air guns as the latter often cause damage to the animal’s skin. The launcher can fire up to 30 bullets in a minute. <br /><br />Each bullet has a range of 200 feet and gets stuck to the monkey with a sticky substance. <br /><br />A small amount of carbon-dioxide pressure helps fire the bullet.<br /><br />“There are currently 13 rubber bullet launchers. Initially, we had procured two which we had used on an experimental basis,” said a source in the public health department of the NDMC.<br /><br />The NDMC has also discontinued its plans of providing food for monkeys in the Delhi Ridge areas, which has a high concentration of monkeys. It had coordinated with the Forest Department to ensure that the monkeys would be provided with chana, fruit and raw vegetables on a monthly budget of Rs 1 lakh.<br /><br />Though initially the council had said the project would continue for a year, it was discontinued after a few months as it was “not sustainable”, said another official. </p>
