GURUGRAM: Residents of Sector 5 are having a harrowing time with increasing incidents of monkey attacks in the area. Most people said that for the past five-six months, they have not been able to use their balconies and terraces because of the animals.
Several complaints were filed at the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) and local representatives even registered their grievances with the CM’s office in December last year. But nothing has been done, residents have alleged.They claimed 20-25 monkeys visit the area regularly.
“We have to stay alert all the time and we have stopped keeping anything in the balconies and terraces. The monkeys have torn up clothes, broken flower pots, damaged pipes and overhead tanks. They also damage cars parked in the area. Children are afraid of going out alone because of these aggressive monkeys,” said a local resident.
SP Nagrath, another local resident who had complained about the monkey menace, said: “It is very difficult to live like this and it seems no one is bothered about the issue. I had filed a complaint with the CM’s office in December last year. The civic body is giving vague replies and trying to close the complaint without any action plan to curb the menace.”Dinesh Vashisht, president of the residents’ welfare association, Sector 3, 5 and 6, said the situation is getting worse and people have got injured recently. “We are not allowed to hire private agencies to catch these monkeys, as per the rules of the MCG. But the civic authority is sitting idle.”
The civic body had engaged a private agency to relocate monkeys.
But last year, the agreement was scrapped after several animal rights activists alleged that the animals were being harmed.A senior MCG official said: “We have got permission from the animal welfare department and we are floating tenders again. We hope to complete the process soon.”