Trying every trick in the book

Warangal: From deploying langurs to impersonating tiger (puli vesham), farmers are trying every trick in the book to stop the invasion of the marauding monkeys. Already down in the dumps due to drastic fall in mango yield this season, farmers have an unenviable task in hands to ward off the monkey menace to protect the crop whatever they have.

Monkey menace is not new in the region; however, a peep into the different strategies adapted by the farmers to guard their mango orchards time to time give an account of how serious the monkey menace is.

Setting off firecrackers to scare away monkeys is passé. A stick in hand certainly helps to drive away a monkey or two but when they invade in large numbers, it’s difficult to control them. Moreover, manning an orchard all the time is impossible.

Using slingshots is also a method to drive away monkeys. But in a country where people believe monkey as the avatar of Lord Hanuman; people seldom try to hurt them.

Deploying langurs to scare away monkeys is the other way widely used by the people successfully. Often, people in villages engage long-tailed black-faced langurs on rent to scare away monkeys.

Since the langur is listed under Schedule-II of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, and under the IPC animal cannot be owned, traded, bought, sold or hired out, there is no point in setting one tribe upon another. It may be noted here that a few years ago, Delhi civic officials hired young people, who in the attire of langurs used to chase away the other monkeys.

Against this backdrop, Adipudi Peda Gangaram, farm worker, who painted stripes resembling a tiger, has been guarding his landlord’s mango orchard in Bayyaram (Mahabubabad district).

He said that the idea is working well as monkeys run away after seeing him. Elsewhere at Achampet under Nizamsagar mandal in Nizamabad district, a farmer totally covered his mango trees with net so that simians stay away from his orchard. Even the grocers in this mandal also hugged the same strategy covering their shops with nets.

In Khammam district, the Medepalli villagers, armed with sticks, every now and then come together to drive away the monkeys. “It works for a few days, thereafter it’s back to square one,” Vallala Narender, Medepalli resident, told The Hans India.

“Earlier we used to threaten monkeys by setting off the string of firecracker. But it seems now that they have become immune and getting updated to such tactics. It’s bound to happen after humans waded into their domain. This is nothing but a return gift,” Baddam Srinivas Reddy, resident of Armoor in Nizamabad district, said.