Chandigarh admn apathy to the fore as monkeys strike again

With summer around the corner, complaints about the monkey menace have already begun pouring in. Residents, especially of the northern sectors, are complaining that officials of the UT forest department and municipal corporation are doing nothing even as monkey attacks are becoming a regular occurrence.

Highlighting the issue, president of the Sector 8-C resident welfare association (RWA) Ranvinder Singh Gill said residents of northern sectors were fed up of the monkeys. “In Sector 8, due to the multiple eateries in the inner market, monkeys are frequenting the markets at night to feed on scrap. Only recently, a resident of Sector 8-C, HS Bains, was bitten by a monkey. He was bitten by a monkey last year as well which only goes to show how authorities are ignoring the problem,” he said.

General secretary of Sector-10 RWA, Gurnam Singh, said it was a frightening experience for senior citizens to find monkeys walking into their lawns even as they were sitting there. “Monkeys look for things to eat and get violent if they are not fed. I have called forest department officials many times in such situations, but the problem has escalated alarmingly.” He also said monkeys were attacking people walking on the street, and only last week, they had snatched a grocery bag from a maid in Sector 10 market.

Councillors; mayor demand action
Local area councillors have also expressed exasperation. Local area councillor of Sectors 1 to 11, Maheshinder Singh Sidhu, said, “We have approached the forest department on many occasions, but they offer nothing concrete. Earlier keeping langurs would keep the monkeys at bay, but ever since this was banned, the monkey problem has increased manifold.”

Chandigarh mayor, Raj Bala Malik, agreed that this had become an issue near her residence as well as her ward and said she would speak to the UT chief conservator of forests (CCF) Debendra Dalai about it. “There is not much the MC can do about it but we will work with the forest department to find a long-term solution to this problem,” she said.

Forest dept working on a solution
UT deputy conservator of forests (DCF) Abdul Qayum said the department was acting on complaints received by the department, “Cage traps have been placed in areas from where more complaints were received. The department has set up cages permanently in Punjab Engineering College (PEC) and Panjab University (PU) premises.”

Qayum said the monkeys caught were taken to Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary for rehabilitation, to live in the wild and to stay away from residential areas. Residents can call on the wildlife helpline number 0172 – 2700217 for complaints, he said.