Monkeys cause panic in Haveri district

haveri: the residents of haveri and neighbouring areas are living in mortal fear after the monkeys of bonnet macaque species virtually invaded the region about a month ago. sources in the forest department said the monkeys are believed to be visiting the town in search of drinking water. the forest department officials have been requested to rein these monkeys in and provide a respite to the citizens.the sources said some children were reportedly mauled by monkeys on the rampage in karjagi village, about 14 km from here, but the injuries are fortunately not of serious nature. some villagers said there is one particular monkey which has been launching itself ferociously on human beings. when their requests to trap these monkeys failed to have desired results, the villagers staged a rasta roko. the forest department officials who did arrive had to bear the brunt of agitators who shattered the windscreen of jeep. only then did the officials direct the gram panchayat to trap the monkey on the run. acting rather belatedly, the forest department officials prepared a trap in the town and captured 25 of the suspected 40 monkeys out in the town. the captured monkeys were later shifted to the dhundasi wildlife sanctuary in uttar kannada district. the officials are now closing in on the remaining monkeys which have created a panic. a team of officials comprising range forest officer of ranebennur s.n. hegde, wildlife wing forester a.d. mulla, s.f. dabbewali, k.h. lamani, guddappa boodihal and parasuram ramappa heeladalli have been put in charge of tackling the monkey menace and bring peace in the village of karjagi.