Coimbatore residents complain of monkey menace

COIMBATORE: When Ramya Sudeep, a resident of an apartment complex in Thaneerpanthal here, walked into her kitchen on Tuesday morning, she was shocked to find a monkey sitting on her kitchen counter. When she instinctively tried shooing it away, it deftly moved out through the window and managed to enter the next-door apartment through the kitchen grill.
When Ramya and her husband tried tracking the monkey, so they could make a complaint, they found two monkeys outside their apartment. The couple and other residents of the area say two to three monkeys have been creating havoc in their area for the past two weeks.
Kavithamani K, another resident of the same apartment complex, says they first saw a monkey in their compound around two months back. “But we managed to scare it away,” she says. “However, for the past two weeks, we have been seeing two to three monkeys prowling around our complex. Either the same monkey has returned with two more or a new set of monkeys have arrived,” she adds.
Residents say that most of them have children and are afraid of the monkeys attacking them or spreading infections to them. “What scares us is how fast the monkeys enter our kitchens, even if we leave one small window open by mistake. Another resident found a monkey taking away a fruit or two from their bowl while making its way out,” says Kavithamani.
“We are scared of the monkeys spreading infections through food and attacking our children,” says Sudeep.
The residents have sent their video and complaints to the district forest officer, D Venkatesh. “I have asked a ranger from Coimbatore circle to visit the apartment and the area to see what could be attracting the monkeys and where they usually rest. While residents are demanding a relocation, I have asked the ranger to study the situation and report back. Based on the observations, we will take a call,” he said.