'Caught 503 so far': Polls over, newly elected Telangana sarpanches try to come good on ‘monkey promise’; troop leaders targeted

HYDERABAD: With panchayat elections over and new sarpanches soon to take charge across Telangana, one of the first poll promises being acted upon in several villages is tackling the monkey menace — by trapping the leader of the troop, blamed for repeated raids on homes, crops and streets.

Teams of monkey catchers hired by newly-elected sarpanches say controlling the problem depends on identifying and catching the leader of the pack, that signals and leads incursions into villages. Catch the leader, they say, and the rest follow. Miss it, and the menace continues.


In several villages, sarpanches began work soon after the results were declared, keen to demonstrate early delivery on poll assurances. "My team has caught 503 monkeys so far. The sarpanch candidate who hired us won the election as he could show through our work that the monkey menace in a Jangaon village could be handled well," said a catcher from Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh. Officially, the sarpanches will take charge on Dec 22.

Despite such efforts, the scale of the problem remains significant. Narmetta village in Jangaon district is estimated to still have nearly 1,000 monkeys, and trapping operations are continuing. The success has triggered demand from nearby hamlets as well. In one village in Ramagundam, teams have trapped about 200 monkeys, while work is under way in Kandikatkur village in Sircilla district — sometimes netting the leader, sometimes other members of the troop.

"All monkeys are fed throughout their time in captivity, transported in cages and released into the forest within 24 hours," said a 24-year-old catcher from Tirupati, who goes by the moniker ‘Monkey Catcher Official' on Instagram. He told TOI that teams first target the leader to lure it into the cage. "When the rest — also fed bananas and peanuts — follow, they too get trapped, and then transported and released back in the forest," he said.

Demand for catchers

Another catcher, known as ‘Devastan4' on Instagram, said demand from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh far exceeds supply, even with a 25-member team. "I first ascertain if the monkeys are attacking humans or destroying crops. Only when I am convinced they are a menace do I take up the job," he said. "There are many catchers in the business, but demand is more than supply," he said, adding that his family has been in the trade for over 50 years.

In Narasaipalle village in Siddipet district, a newly-elected sarpanch came good on her poll assurance and hired a team immediately after taking charge. Catchers generally charge around Rs 500 per monkey, though the cost is often negotiated when villages face large simian population. In some cases, villagers are asked to bear the cost of feeding the animals before trapping.

Clearance must

Before operations begin, official clearance is mandatory from local bodies such as the gram panchayat, municipality or the forest department. Only after approvals are obtained do the teams begin trapping.

In Raghavapuram village in Bhuvanagiri district, a sarpanch who had committed during the campaign struck a year-long agreement with catchers soon after the results. In Vennampalli in Karimnagar district, newly-elected sarpanch Chiranjeevi adopted a similar approach. A catcher said the team received an advance of Rs 50,000 in Nizamabad's Jakranpalli village — and soon found its contact number circulating across neighbouring villages battling the same problem.

Another monkey catcher said they were receiving numerous calls to trap simians but were unable to attend to them immediately due to the heavy demand.



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