If inquired about their crops, it is more likely that the farmers from Tommidigudisela Palle village in Jannaram mandal of Mancherial district will break into tears. Like thousands of their ilk across the districts that were part of undivided Adilabad, they have no complaints about adverse weather being the spoilsport but, their crops, being damaged extensively by monkeys, is a massive nuisance.
Monkey menace is being faced by both urban and rural citizens and can only be controlled effectively if there is a long-term solution, according to experts. They suggest making food available for the simians inside the forest, the steps for which need to be initiated immediately.
Thousands of monkeys captured by civic bodies in Hyderabad and other towns in the State continue to release them on the forest fringes of Adilabad, Nirmal, Mancherial and Kumram Bheem Asifabad districts. These monkeys raid agriculture fields in villages along the fringes and homes in urban areas in search of food and end up creating untold misery to people, including physical injuries to farmers and others.
“The government should take up plantation of wild species of fruit-bearing plants like pala pandu (Manilkara hexandra), neredu or jamun (Syzigium cumini), tuniki or tendu (Diospyros melanoxylon), maredu (Aegle marmelos) and vilikkaya (Feronia elephantum), to name a few. Herbivores, including simians, relish these fruits and would not enter human habitations if they get sufficient food from these trees,” said E. Narasimha Murthy, Botany Department, Satavahana University.
“Yes, we are planting wild varieties of fruit-bearing saplings like morri or chironji (Buchanania), ippa or mahua (Madhuca), medi or fig (Ficus) etc, along the forest fringes,” said Mancherial District Forest Officer. “Though it is the duty of the concerned local bodies to control monkey population, we are also taking temporary measures to provide relief to people from monkeys,” he added.
The temporary measures include the Forest Department in Mancherial catching the monkeys near temples, schools and hostels and releasing them deep inside the forests. In due course, however, the monkeys would return to the habitations owing to scarcity of food in the forests.
Rehabilitation centre
The government had planned a monkey rehabilitation centre at Nirmal where the simians would be caught and sterilised. Work in this regard is yet to begin.
