Monkeys on a rampage destroy cotton crop in Raichur village

Belagavi: Cotton farmers in Yeragara village in

Raichur

district have been driven to their wits’ end trying to deal with

monkeys

running riot across their fields. A pack of monkeys has taken refuge at

power grid

towers close to the cotton fields. The monkeys, which have been feasting on cotton balls, have thus far destroyed standing crops across 12 acres in the village, leaving the affected farmers with no option but to appeal to the forest department for help in tackling the menace.

The monkeys, identified as bonnet

macaques

, generally tend to invade farms with fruit-bearing trees, and can be easily frightened away by lighting up crackers. But the local farmers are surprised at finding the monkeys nesting so close to the fields, which they point to as a deviation from their normal behaviour.

Shivaraj, Savaramma, Tippayya, Narasappa and Nallareddy Shivaraj Shankar are among the farmers who have had their crops destroyed by the primates. Nallareddy said that the monkeys had completely destroyed crops on 12 acres of their adjoining farms, and were now targetting the remaining eight acres. “We have burst more than 1,000 crackers, but this pack of around 60 to seventy monkeys seems to have no fear. They just climb up the

tower

, and come down again to feed on the cotton balls,” he told TOI.

Narasappa, another cotton farmer whose fields have been rampaged by the monkeys, said that they had written to the range forest officer in the area. “But the official is giving us evasive replies. He informed us that the department catches only langurs but not bonnet macaques. The foresters asked us to speak to the members of the gram panchayat. But what can GP members and officials do in this situation?” Narasappa asked.

GP member Aziz demanded a written statement from the forest department, clearly stating that it captured only langurs and not bonnet macaques. “We will speak to the panchayat development officer, and ask him to persuade the forest department to solve this problem. Men and women of the village are spending all night guarding the fields to save whatever is left and the forest department is turning a blind eye to this? Who will compensate the farmers for their losses?” Aziz asked.