Several neighbourhoods in Mehdipatnam are troubled by stray monkeys which enter the homes of local residents to steal food and other items stored inside.
As a result of the problem, it gets worse during the summer months, and despite complaints, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) was not able to do much about it except to set traps.
According to Shakeel Ahmed, a local resident of the Vijayanagar colony, monkeys enter their houses and steal articles from them. The GHMC authorities are unable to do much about this perennial problem. The children are afraid to leave the house for fear of attacks. The monkeys sometimes rest on the terrace, he complained.
As another local resident complained, the monkeys take refuge at government offices near Masab Tank Road and the military campus near Mehdipatnam and venture into the colonies to find food during the morning and evening. He said officials did visit and set up trap cages, but they are ineffective.
The GHMC, however, said they are having difficulty finding monkey catchers. In the six GHMC zones of Secunderabad, Khairatabad, Kukatpally, Serilingampally, Charminar, and LB Nagar, the civic body has floated tenders for contractors to catch monkeys. However, there has been little response, except in a few zones.
According to a senior official, there is a shortage of monkey catchers in Telangana. Two families in Musheerabad were well trained to catch monkeys, but they are not participating anymore due to age factors and health issues.
The GHMC officials also contacted monkey catchers in other states, but they did not respond for a variety of reasons. As per permission granted by the Forest Department, the monkeys trapped by catchers will be released in forest areas in Adilabad or Khammam. The official explained that people are reluctant to come forward because monkeys are a protected wildlife species and a lot of protocol must be followed.
Several monkey-related incidents were reported in Domalguda, Alwal, Chikkadpally, Salar Jung Museum, Padmaraonagar, Kapra, Alwal, and Motinagar, as well as Ameerpet, Uppal, Osmania University, Tarnaka, East and West Marredpally, Sanathnagar, and LB Nagar.
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