Monkey menace becomes major concern for residents of Mancherial town

Frequent monkey attacks have become a major concern for residents of Mancherial town, with aggressive animals roaming colonies, parks and temples in search of food and water. The municipal corporation plans to allocate funds to hire catchers to trap the monkeys

Mancherial: Monkey menace, which has been troubling the Mancherial district headquarters for a long time, has now become a major cause for concern for residents of the town, with the animals frequently attacking people.

Unlike in the past, the simians are now roaming the peripheral colonies, irrigation tanks, parks and famous temples of the town in search of food and drinking water. They are seen in these places not only in the mornings but also in the afternoons and at night, often terrorising and injuring residents, particularly women and children. At night, they take shelter in abandoned houses and on rooftops of buildings. The hungry monkeys are grabbing essential commodities, fruits and eatables from homes and kirana stores if doors remain unlocked. They are carrying away wheat flour, bread, vegetables, bananas, apples, coconuts and snacks stored in kitchens. The unusual movement of monkeys has triggered panic among residents, who are already troubled by stray dogs.

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While straying through colonies, some adult monkeys that have developed aggressive behaviour are attacking people when attempts are made to chase them away. Women and children are sustaining injuries when monkeys attack them in different parts of the town at regular intervals. Many such incidents are going unreported, with locals claiming that the town witnesses nearly 10 monkey attacks a day.

Residents of colonies that frequently face monkey attacks are taking various preventive measures to deal with the animals. Many people remain vigilant throughout the day carrying sticks, while joggers move in groups while jogging on the bund of Ramuni Cheruvu, the ZP School Grounds and other parts of the district headquarters.

When contacted, Mancherial Municipal Corporation Commissioner Gone Anwesh admitted that the civic body does not have special teams to capture the monkeys and is currently depending on the Forest department to catch the animals. He said funds would soon be allocated to hire catchers to trap the monkeys and added that the corporation was planning to collaborate with voluntary organisations and adopt successful methods followed by other civic bodies.