Mallik Ram, a resident of Mudigonda, urged the state government to engage agencies to collect monkeys and release them in forests
Hyderabad: The monkey menace in Nirmal and Mudigonda towns has reached an alarming level, causing widespread frustration among residents. Women, children, and elderly persons have become particularly vulnerable to this menace as monkeys attack them in an attempt to snatch food.
In October, a 50-year-old woman, Bongoni Laxmi, a beedi-rolling worker from Vidyanagar in Khanapur, sustained severe head injuries when she fell while trying to escape an attack from a monkey. The head injuries resulted in her death.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, Lalitha, a resident of Jummerat Pet in Nirmal, said a nine-year-old girl was bitten by a monkey, and a Class 5 student sustained a fracture while fleeing from a monkey attack.
In Gandhi Chowk, Budhawarpet, and Somwarpet, monkeys also raid homes and shops to snatch away fruits, vegetables, groceries, and other food items, causing immense loss to commercial establishments, said Bachchu Ramesh, a shop owner in the area.
The government has set up a dedicated unit at Chincholi near Nirmal to sterilise monkeys. The unit has remained idle as the agencies that were supposed to bring monkeys for sterilisation have failed to live up to their responsibility.
Mudigonda in Khammam district is another town affected by monkeys. People in this town, however, have decided to deal with the threat on their own. A group of people in Medipally village, located on the outskirts of Mudigonda, armed with sticks, move around the streets to chase away the monkeys. However, these efforts provide only temporary relief as some monkeys return.
Mallik Ram, a resident of Mudigonda, urged the state government to engage agencies to collect monkeys and release them in forests.
