PGI may engage langurs to get rid of monkeys

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal"><span style="" font-family:="" times="" new="" roman="" class="author">SOURAV SANYAL</span><br />CHANDIGARH: The answer to the monkey menace in the PGI might lie with langurs. The PGI is thinking of bringing langurs and making them tour the campus to get rid of the simians.<br />Senior administrative officials told Times News Network that they had written in this regard to the supplier who provides animals for research.<br />‘‘Langurs have worked wonders in Air Force Station, Dadri, where monkeys had made life miserable for the residents.A trained langur was made to sit on a twowheeler and made to tour the area for a few days. The monkeys got scared and left the residents in peace. Similar has been the case with AIIMS, where langurs have helped to ward them off. This is a totally non-violent method of driving them away. We have written to our animal supplier, but are yet to hear from them,’’ said a senior official.<br />Meanwhile, the PGI is seeking the help of the UT administration for their ‘‘removal� from the campus. Chief security officer P C Sharma has written to chief wildlife warden Ishwar Singh twice, on November 27 and December 10, urging him to take ‘‘appropriate action’’.<br />Sharma said that not only do they break car window panes and tear off car, scooter and cycle seats, but show their ‘‘dirty tricks’’ by destroying invaluable research record of doctors after breaking window panes. The letter further says that the monkeys ‘‘tease’’ people and harm elderly people, lonely ladies and children. Not having got any response, PGI sent a reminder last week to Ishwar Singh, urging him to look into the matter personally and initiate necessary steps for the safety and security of the patients, their attendants, relatives and employees.<br />‘‘The monkeys are creating hell for us. They have bitten children and slapped those who tried shooing them away. They had even entered the male medical ward sometime back and tore off bed sheets. The monkeys enter the residential quarters and walk off with clothes left for drying. They also pose a health hazard as they break the lid of the overhead water tanks to drink water,’’ said the official.<br />Ishwar Singh said there was practically ‘‘no solution’’ to the problem as the monkeys were ‘‘extremely intelligent’’. ‘‘We have about 17 enclosures for catching them, which are kept for some days at select spots by rotation. However, the success rate is barely 10 per cent. We have been sterilising about 25 monkeys every month and later releasing them to the forest so that they do not multiply,’’ he said. PGI authorities said that they would give the langur option a serious thought. </div> </div>