India: Capital's 6,000 monkeys have just one shelter

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http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=180275

 

Capital's 6,000 monkeys have just one shelter

 

Delhi Zoo has enough of its own and neighbouring states are not ready to

take them.

 

Teena Thacker

 

New Delhi, April 29: THE recent incident where a professor was bitten by

a monkey inside the Delhi University campus has highlighted how bad the

monkey menace in the Capital is getting to be.

 

According to a recent MCD census, there are 6,000-odd monkeys in Delhi.

Compounding the problem is the absence of enclosures where they can be

placed.

 

The only shelter here - at Rajokri - is full to capacity and other

states where Delhi was hoping to shift the monkeys have said they do not

want any more simians.

 

" There is a dire need for allocation of space and funds... The monkeys

can often be seen diving in and out of water tanks. It is becoming a

problem... There has to be a well-planned solution, " Honorary Wildlife

Warden Uma Menon says.

 

When the Centre proposed shifting some monkeys out of Delhi, states like

Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh accepted a few monkeys initially. But

they called a halt when the simians started causing problems.

 

" While 250 monkeys were transferred to Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh in

2003. In 2004, MP accepted around 250 on the intervention of the Supreme

Court but subject to a condition that the Government of India pays.

Kunupalpur in MP was developed as an alternative habitat. One lot was

accepted there too but after that they also said no because these

monkeys stared becoming a pest in nearby towns. In Rajokri, 325 monkeys

are caged, " a senior Wildlife Department official said.

 

More and more cases of monkey bites are occurring, with an MCD official

saying around 40,000 monkey and dog bites are reported from different

parts of Delhi every year. Complaints are often received from South

Block, North Block, Vasant Kunj, Udyog Bhavan, hospitals like AIIMS,

Hindu Rao and Safdarjung as well as the Birla Mandir and various parks.

 

Catching monkeys, which are listed under the Wildlife Protection Act,

poses problems for civic bodies. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi says

the MCD Act doesn't have any provision for catching wild animals like

monkeys. NGOs say they are not permitted by law to keep monkeys in

captivity. And Delhi Zoo has enough monkeys already.

 

Experts believe a plan has to be drawn up in order to isolate the city

from the monkeys.

 

" There has to a big campaign to make people understand that they should

not feed them. When people feed them they start associating human beings

with food and lose their fear of man... " Kartik Satyanarayan of Wildlife

SOS says.

 

The animal welfare association Frendicoes SECA has written to Lt

Governor B L Joshi and officials are planning to meet Chief Minister

Sheila Dikshit.