Hyderabad, November 28: The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation proposes to establish an enclosure of 100acre land in a forest area near the city for rehabilitating the stray monkeys caught in the twin cities.The corporation will send the proposal to the forest department for identification and alienation of the land to deal with the evergrowing monkey menace due to the fastshrinking forest land in Greater Hyderabad limits on account of rapid urbanisation.
The GHMC wants 100 acres of forest land for development of an enclosed reserve with with fruitbearing trees exclusively and other horticultural plantations for the rhesus monkey. Stray monkeys are causing serious problem to the people and the corporation is receiving dozens of complaints everyday seeking protection to them and their properties.
At present, the civic body traps stray monkeys in the city limits and releases them in the forest area identified by forest officials but the monkeys, due to lack of water, vegetation and fruitbearing trees in the forest, make a comeback to the city and stray into residential areas.The number of stray monkeys trapped every year in the GHMC limits ranges from 8,000 to 10,000 and these monkeys have already become used to human contact. Monkeys can cause tuberculosis, herpes simplex and other bacterial infections.
The GHMC is spending `710 to trap a monkey. Municipal authorities told that the corporation wanted to establish the enclosure in a forest for rehabilitation and sterilisation of trapped monkeys and entrust the maintenance of the place to a voluntary organisation.The primate population has been on the increase in the urban as well as rural areas due to uncontrolled breeding.
The continual drought conditions and consequent depletion of green vegetation and fruit bearing trees denying the simians some sources of food have worsened the problem.
-PTI
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