In a touching gesture, banana growers of Vadapalem village in Kothapeta mandal of East Godavari district have decided to feed a major portion of their produce to monkeys in the forest-fringe areas in the Rampa Agency.
Lockdown blues
Hundreds of monkeys in the Rampa Agency are facing scarcity of feed owing to the lockdown. The animals, otherwise, gather their feed from the local shandies, small markets, and the offerings made by the locals at temples.
With all the shandies, markets and temples being closed now, the Vadapalem villagers have decided to come the rescue of the monkeys.
“Five days ago, the farmers in our village have harvested banana. We have decided to feed the entire harvest from 600 plants to monkeys,” says Moka Chiru, who have started the initiative.
The bananas were ripened for four days in the village and transported to the Rampa Agency on Wednesday.
Volunteers roped in
A team of 12 volunteers have started dropping the bananas along the stretch from Korukonda, Maderumilli, Ramapachodavaram to Chintooru, explains Mr. Moka Chiru who have arranged vehicle to transport the fruits.
Some villagers fed the monkeys sighted in the Papikonda National Park area during the journey on Wednesday.
Pedapudi Srinivas has donated the harvest of 200 plants for the cause, while Gangadhar and Sateesh have arranged vehicles for the distribution of the fruits.
“We often feed the monkeys during our journey to the Rampa Agency. So, we have decided to feed them during the lockdown,” adds Mr. Moka Chiru.
Supported by the other residents in the village, the volunteers are dropped bananas in the locations in the Agency, where monkeys are usually sighted.