Residents see red over simian menace in Udhampur villages

Arjun Sharma

Jammu, November 13

From triggering migration at a small level to forcing farmers to stop cultivating their fields, the monkey menace in many villages of Udhampur district has increased to such an extent that local residents have sought help of the wildlife authorities.

Many people in Jaganoo and adjoining villages in the district are troubled by the nuisance caused by monkeys whose population has grown considerably in the area during the past four or five years. Even school-going children are not spared by monkeys and there have been many cases in the past wherein children were bitten and they also lost their lunch boxes to monkeys.

Local residents informed that a few people in the village had left their houses to shift to city areas due to the simian menace. After crops sown by farmers were destroyed by these monkeys, many of them decided to leave the area as there was no help from wildlife officials. Many other villages in the district, including Thial, Chirayai and Jib, are witnessing the problem.

Damage crops

Monkeys eat the seeds of the crops when sown, resulting in damages. Some people have settled in city areas to avoid the monkey menace. Mohan Lal, naib sarpanch, Jaganoo village

Cooperation needed

Cooperation from locals is required in scaring away the monkeys by changing the location of the cutouts twice or thrice a week. Rakesh Sharma, Range officer

Now, wildlife officials have come up with a unique idea as they are pasting cutouts of langurs in different areas in Jaganoo village. Shops, temples, residential areas and market areas have been chosen where these cutouts have been pasted to scare away the monkeys. The cutouts have started showing results but local residents feel that it won’t be a long-term solution as monkeys will come to know that these are mere cutouts of langurs.

Local residents claim that monkeys attack children, women and elderly, causing grievous injuries to them. According to them, there is no house in the area whose at least one member has not been attacked by monkeys.

Mohan Lal, Naib Sarpanch of Jaganoo village, said wildlife officials were contacted after the monkey menace increased to an extent that locals were not able to bear it. “To protect ourselves and our children, we contacted the department to take some measures to end the menace. There are three schools in our area and not even a single day passes when monkeys do not attack children. Locals carry stick whenever they have to go out of their houses,” he said.

The shops selling eatables in the area have installed iron or steel bars and nets to keep monkeys at bay as they often cause financial losses to them by frequently taking away eatables.

Mohan Lal also informed that monkeys had damaged crops in the past. “Monkeys eat the seeds of the crops when sown, resulting in damages. Some people of the village have settled in city area to avoid the monkey menace,” he added. Wildlife officials said they had received many complaints about the monkey menace in several villages of the district after which the cutouts of langurs were installed.

Rakesh Sharma, Range Officer, Wildlife Department, Udhampur, told The Tribune that after several complaints were received by the department from local residents, the higher-ups directed the staff members to install cutout of langur in the affected villages. He however said that cooperation from locals was required in scaring away the monkeys by changing the location of the cutouts twice or thrice in a week else monkeys would discover about the cutouts.

“As langurs are considered natural enemies of monkeys, the project can become successful as it was seen during the G-20 meeting in New Delhi when similar technique was used to scare away the monkeys,” he said. Wildlife officials have also urged the people in the region not to feed monkeys on roadsides.