Monkey relocation drive underway in Mussoorie

MUSSOORIE, 25 Oct: A monkey relocation drive is in full swing in this hill station after recurring complaints by the residents of the town. The monkey population, which has soared to an alarming level, has become a nuisance for tourists and residents and relocation is considered the only option to solve the problem.
The DFO, Mussoorie, Dr Arup Bannerjee, speaking to Garhwal Post, said that special permission is required from the Chief Wildlife Warden to trap the Urban Rhesus Macaque and the DFO of the forest in which they are being relocated has to be informed.
According to Sunder Pal, Nagar Palika worker, the monkeys are being trapped with the assistance of Ikram, a professional trapper, and around 300 monkeys have been caged and released in Mohand and Doiwala forests during the past 10 days.
The residents of Mussoorie, especially the housewives, are happy with this drive as the monkeys harassed the womenfolk even more.
However, the scientists are unhappy and are apprehensive about the whole relocation drive carried out by the Nagar Palika authorities.
According to the monkey experts and scientists of WWI, Dehradun, the methodology of relocation is not foolproof and has major shortcomings. The experts, under condition of anonymity, said that relocation was a temporary option and a long term solution needed to be looked into regarding this. They also said that mass awareness and banning of human feeding was the answer to the problem.
Dr Arup Bannerjee was of the view that decrease in forest cover was a major reason for the monkeys thronging to urban areas, particularly as they are social animals that thrive in urban centers. He further added that the Alpha male ought to be captured and sterilised, which would help in controlling the population of these monkeys.
The experts are also of the view that the monkeys should not be released on the roadside, but inside dense forests where they have enough fruit and foliage to consume.
According to a study done by experts, it has been estimated that during 1999, that there are over 5 lakh Rhesus Macaques, of which 55% were found in human habitations. This was an alarming trend. Consequently, there was also an increase in man–monkey conflict and, in the absence of a management plan, this problem of man–monkey conflict was only going to increase in the future.
Poles apart from what the eminent scientists and experts think, the residents of Mussoorie have reason to be happy and can breathe without fear till the time the monkeys resurface again to cause a nuisance in the town.
Nagar Palika President OP Uniyal said that informal permission had been taken from the forest authorities and this drive would continue for a couple of more days.