Shimla, Aug 11 (Inditop.com) Faced with marauding monkeys that have been ruining standing crops in Himachal Pradesh, the state government has plans to raise a “special brigade” through the rural employment scheme that will guard farms and chase the simians back into the woods.
The state government has requested the central government to include the appointment of crop protectors under its flagship NREGA (National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) programme.
“We have plans to raise a ‘special armed brigade’ mainly to tackle the monkey menace, especially in the countryside, through NREGA. For this, a proposal has been sent to the central government to include crop protectors in the scheme,” Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Secretary Shrikant Baldi told Inditop.
He said the wild animal chasers would be employed like watchmen in panchayats.
“Every state has its own problems. In most of the hill states including ours, the menace of wild animals, especially vagrant monkeys, is quite serious. So we have decided to tackle the simians by employing people who will chase them back into the woods or keep them away from human habitations,” he added.
Thousands of farmers in Shimla, Solan, Sirmaur, Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Una, Mandi and Kangra districts of the state have incurred losses mainly due to the marauding monkeys. As per forest department estimates, more than 900,000 farmers are affected by wild animals. Monkeys, numbering over 300,000, mainly target the cereal and fruit crops, causing extensive damage.
Mohan Verma, a farmer on the outskirts of Shimla, said: “We are struggling to keep monkeys at bay. In our area, they are the single largest pest. If the government can’t provide us relief from them, we will stop sowing fields.”
Another villager, Ram Subhag, echoed similar sentiments: “The swelling armies of monkeys have made our life hell. From dawn to dusk, a group of villagers armed with sticks and crackers guard the orchards. In this season, when the (apple) crop is ready for harvesting, the attack of these marauders is on the rise.”
Himachal Forest Minister J.P. Nadda said the issue of monkey menace is a sensitive one.
“The issue of monkeys is a sensitive one. We are trying to get rid of them scientifically. Farmers in some of the areas are demanding mass killing of monkeys but we will not carry out killing keeping in view the religious sentiments of the people. Of course, we have allowed the farmers to carry out selective killing of monkeys but with the help of foresters.
“We are trying to contain the monkey nuisance by mass sterilisation and setting up more primate protection parks.”
The previous Congress government had initiated mass translocation of monkeys to remote forest areas from towns and villages to control the menace. This process was, however, not successful as the territory vacated by the translocated animals was occupied by more aggressive troops of monkeys from surrounding areas.
Kuldeep Singh Tanwar of the Kheti Bachao Sangharsh Samiti, an NGO working for the cause of farmers, said lifting the ban on export of monkeys is the only alternative to check their rising population.
“The export of monkeys for bio-medical research is a good option to reduce their numbers,” he said.
According to the economic survey (2008-09) of Himachal Pradesh, NREGA was implemented in the state from April 1, 2008. Under the scheme, 363,150 families have benefited already.
