Monkey menace troubling Nainital residents, administration

NAINITAL - The grey langur population is growing in Nainital and causing trouble for both residents and administrators.

“These monkeys attack local pedestrians and are causing a lot of problems as their numbers have increased substantially. They steal from our houses and enter our premises. They destroy rations, eatables inside our houses,” said Girish Joshi a resident.

“People and little children in particular were afraid to step out and women feared to do their chores,” he added.

Nainital is a favoured tourist destination in northern India because of its scenic beauty and cool temperature.

The summer season attracts tourists, but alarming incidents of monkey attacks is worrying the administration.

“We have, through strategic planning, caught the monkeys and transported the monkeys to the protected forest areas with the help of the forest department. Since March 21 to 25 it is reported that 266 monkeys have already been captured,” said Neeraj Joshi, Executive Officer of the Nainital Municipal Corporation.

“This has given the people some relief from the continuous menace. I visited the high altitude snow-view areas where I saw a positive effect,” he added.

The rapid urbanisation of hilly areas has led to encroachments of natural habitats of many animals, including langurs. By Vipul Goel (ANI)