Karnataka govt plans to sterilise menacing monkeys

The state government said a sterilisation programme to control the menace caused by monkeys will be rolled out after legislators raised this issue in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly on Thursday.

The sterilisation programme is inspired by a similar initiative carried out in Himachal Pradesh.

The government said this in response to a question by BJP MLA Araga Jnanendra in the Legislative Assembly, who highlighted the problems caused by monkeys in his constituency and sought to know the progress of the proposed Monkey Park, which was expected to come up near Sagar in Shivamogga district.

"One-and-a-half years ago, the Monkey Park was announced at a cost of Rs 6 crore. It is still incomplete. Now, the government says it wants to preform sterilisation programme at a cost of Rs 25 lakh. Are you going to sterlise male or female monkeys," the BJP MLA asked, criticising the entire project as unscientific.

Industries Minister Jagadish Shettar - who was responding on behalf of Forest Minister Arvind Limbavali - said that a pilot sterilisation programme was carried out successfully in Himachal Pradesh and will be replicated here. "Male monkeys will be sterilised," he said, adding that government would take up construction of the Monkey Park on priority.

JD(S) MLA Srinivas Gowda from Kolar said that the monkey menace was not restricted to Malnad districts. "In Kolar, they enter homes and are causing problems. The monkeys should be captured and released in a remote forest," he said.

Meanwhile, legislators from Central Karnataka noted that wild boars and deers were behind extensive crop damages. They said the Forest Department, which was taking little action to prevent these damages, was also offering inadequate relief to cover it

Shettar said that the government had sent a proposal to the Finance Department to revise the relief amount granted for crop loss caused by wild animals. He said that the relief amount was last revised in 2016, adding that a meeting will be conveyed shortly with representatives from all constituencies facing the problem.