Why are slingshots selling like hot cakes in Nalgonda?

Nalgonda: Guess what is selling like hot cakes in towns and villages of the district to keep the marauding monkeys under check? Catapult, the once popular must-have arsenal in children’s play things. People harassed by the monkeys have found that catapults are handy, particularly if one has a steady hand and decent aim to scare […]

Nalgonda: Guess what is selling like hot cakes in towns and villages of the district to keep the marauding monkeys under check? Catapult, the once popular must-have arsenal in children’s play things.

People harassed by the monkeys have found that catapults are handy, particularly if one has a steady hand and decent aim to scare away the simians with small stones shot from the rubber-wood device. Vendors on mopeds carrying thousands of slingshots have become a common sight in the towns and cities of late. And they are making good money.

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Shaik Hussein, who moves from village to village on a moped carrying more than 3,000 catapults, told Telangana Today that he makes the catapults using cane and elastic rubber. He makes two types of catapults, short range ones for domestic purposes and long range ones for protection of crops from monkeys. The price of a short 30-40 metre range catapult is Rs 60 apiece while the long range that can carry the ‘missile’ to 100 metres cost Rs 100. “These are fixed prices,” he said.

Hussein says he sells about 200 Catapults a day, chalking out a route map of villages that are reeling under the monkey menace.

Says Ch Savithramma, a resident Jajireddygudem: “When I take out the catapult and start taking aim at the monkeys, they generally scoot because I think they have already got a taste of the slingshot earlier.”

She goes on to point out that making loud noise and beating of drums have no effect on the monkeys now. “Every house in my villages has a catapult,” she adds.

S Ramesh, a farmer from Ramannagudem, said catapults are cheaper than stuffed tiger toys which also help in keeping the monkeys at bay. “Catapults are easier to carry and handle than the stuff tiger toys,” he said.

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