GHMC to rope in private agencies to curb monkey menace

For the six zones of the civic body, agencies with required expertise in catching monkeys and maintaining them till release in forest areas, have come forward to take up the task in four zones

Hyderabad: There could be relief from monkey menace for denizens in parts of the city with the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) finally managing to rope in a few monkey catchers.

For the six zones of the civic body, agencies with required expertise in catching monkeys and maintaining them till release in forest areas, have come forward to take up the task in four zones. The quest for similar personnel who could snare the simians in other two zones, however continues for the GHMC.

---

Agencies with adequate skills and equipment have come forward to catch monkeys in Kukatpally, Secunderabad, Serilingampally and LB Nagar zone, but to execute the task in Charminar and Khairatabd zones, no agencies have shown interest. “We will invite tenders again for these two zones,” said a GHMC official.

Despite people complaining about monkeys entering their houses and causing nuisance, there have instances when the GHMC officials were unable to resolve the grievance due to a lack of staff and a proper mechanism to catch the monkeys.

An official said in the coming two months, complaints in Kukatpally, Secunderabad, Serilingampally and LB Nagar will be acted upon and the monkeys caught and shifted.

“While shifting the monkeys, a certificate will be obtained from the Telangana Forest Department. The agencies that were awarded with the works have previous experience in capturing, feeding and transporting monkeys,” said the official.

The selected agencies will not only be tasked with catching monkeys, but also have to provide food, water and shelter and on obtaining necessary clearances from the forest officials, shift them to identified forest areas.

“They should be handled as humanely as possible without causing any injury or discomfort. A penalty will be imposed on the agencies if monkeys are not handled properly,” he said.