Monkey menace in Telangana: Officials call for cluster-wise rehabilitation centres

Forest officials have called for cluster-wise monkey rehabilitation centres across Telangana, citing inadequate facilities and a growing population estimated at 50 lakh. They say additional centres, including dedicated facilities in Hyderabad, are needed to bridge the gap between sterilisation and reproduction

By Santosh Padala

Mancherial: Forest officials admit that the lack of sufficient rehabilitation centres is contributing to the growing monkey menace across both urban and rural Telangana. They believe that creating cluster-wise centres covering at least three districts each, along with dedicated facilities in Hyderabad, could play a vital role in curbing the problem.

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Officials estimate that Telangana is home to nearly 50 lakh monkeys, with around 20 per cent being infants. Native species typically give birth to one infant per year, meaning the population will continue to rise despite the relatively slow reproduction rate. Controlling numbers, officials stress, is the need of the hour to effectively address the menace.

A first-of-its-kind pilot rehabilitation centre was established at Chincholi village in Nirmal district in 2020 at a cost of Rs 2.25 crore. It is the second such facility in India after the one located in Himachal Pradesh and is managed by the forest department. However, the centre is able to perform barely 100 to 150 surgeries per month, far below the scale needed to match reproduction rates.

“The lone centre is struggling to cater to all districts and major cities like Hyderabad and Warangal. Cluster-wise centres would help bridge the gap between sterilisation and reproduction. It is the only way to curb the menace permanently,” a senior official said on condition of anonymity.

Officials attribute the surge in the monkey menace to human feeding practices at temples and along forest roads. Having lost their natural foraging instincts, monkeys are increasingly invading human settlements in search of food and water. Aggressive monkeys are attacking residents, with women and children sustaining injuries in colonies across the state.

Financial burden mounts on civic bodies

Villages and municipalities across Telangana are left with no option but to earmark funds to tackle the monkey menace following repeated pleas from residents. For instance, the Municipal Corporation of Karimnagar entered into an agreement with monkey catchers for Rs 10 lakh to catch monkeys in all 60 divisions of the corporation. Bheemaram village in Mancherial district raised Rs 3 lakh to catch monkeys.

Some villages severely affected by the menace are compelled to pass resolutions to crowdfund efforts to deal with the challenge. Both urban and rural civic bodies are depending on professional catchers from Nellore and other parts of Andhra Pradesh to capture the animals, owing to a lack of catchers in Telangana. They are spending anywhere between Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 per animal.

Monkey population in Telangana (approximately): 50 lakh

• Infants: 20 per cent
• Sterilisations: 100-150 per month
• Funds spent by Mancherial Municipal Corporation for tackling monkey menace: Rs 15 lakh
• Monkeys caught by MMC: 2,400
• Funds spent by Municipal Corporation of Karimnagar for catching monkeys: Rs 10 lakh
• Bheemaram village in Mancherial crowdfunded: Rs 3 lakh
• Valmidi in Jangaon promised to raise Rs 5 lakh
• First monkey rehabilitation centre in Nirmal established in 2020
• Cost of the centre: Rs 2.25 crore