NEW DELHI: The New Delhi Municipal Corporation has spent more than Rs 10 lakh in the last two years on catching monkeys, who menace people in the Lutyen’s zone in the national capital, but to little effect.
An RTI reply received by this newspaper disclosed that NDMC has deployed monkey catchers in the Lutyens’ zone, particularly in government buildings, including Shastri Bhawan, Krishi Bhawan, North Block and South Block. Since July 2017, 898 monkeys have been caught at a cost of Rs 10.77 lakh.
In the RTI reply, the NDMC said that the monkey catching contract was awarded to the contractor for two years, from July 2017 to July 2019, at Rs 1,200 per monkey. While 309 monkeys were nabbed in 2017, the number rose the following year, with 423 monkeys caught. In 2019, 166 simians have been caught.
However, this has had little impact as far as the monkey menace is concerned. Monkeys continue to trouble visitors and residents in the area, and the latest known case is of a Rajya Sabha lawmaker, who suffered a monkey bite. Rakesh Sinha was bitten by a monkey at his residence on Shahjahan Road at the end of August. The monkey bit him in the leg when he was stepping out of his house.
Officials working in government buildings in the Lutyens’ zone have several stories to narrate about the monkey menace. They say that they keep receiving complaints about monkey bites from visitors. Moreover, there have been many instances of the simians chasing people and snatching food from them.
A government official at Krishi Bhawan said that it was dangerous to walk in the parks in the area. “These monkeys generally move in groups. While a few people offer them eatables, they never hesitate to chase visitors,” he said.
Officials said that advisories had been issued many a time on not feeding the animals bananas, chickpeas or other food items, but people still did so, encouraging the simians to remain in the area. Considering the monkey menace, the Delhi High Court had observed in January 2018 that people would be driven out of the Lutyen’s zone if remedial measures were not taken. The court said that sterilisation of the monkeys could not be delayed further. The issue has also been raised in Parliament, with an Indian National Lok Dal lawmaker mentioning the monkey menace during zero hour in the Rajya Sabha.