Kaushambi reels under monkey terror, 10-yr-old latest victim

The simian menace in the city seems to be going out of control as residents of many areas say they have been suffering from the menace for the past several months.

The simian menace in the city seems to be going out of control as residents of many areas say they have been suffering from the menace for the past several months. On Friday, a 10-year-old girl was bitten by a monkey when she was playing in a park of Aravali society in Kaushambi area.

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Residents of Kaushambi claim that complaints regarding the monkey menace to the civic authorities have fallen on deaf ears. Even their attempts to free the area of monkeys have failed. Worst affected are the residents of GDA towers - Aravali and Nilgiri - and Girnar and Ratnagiri apartments where mostly senior government officers reside.

Some housing societies of Kaushambi had hired a man who owned a langur to scare away the monkeys. But they had a bad experience. The dominating number of monkeys used to chase away the langur.

More than 100 monkeys keep moving around the residential areas and in parks of all the societies, making it vulnerable for the residents especially the children who have been attacked on most of the occasions.

“This is a big problem. We are living in a constant fear through the day. School children are most affected as they have to wait for the bus at stops in front of the housing societies. We have complained to the civic authorities but they expressed helplessness,” said Amit Bedi, general secretary of Aravali Apartments RWA.

These monkeys often attack residents carrying food items or groceries during the day time and snatch the articles. They have also been noticed at nights in the parking areas. They damage mirrors of the vehicles and other exteriors.

“We are afraid of going to markets. In the morning, monkeys roam around and always prowl on the school bags of children. Recently a monkey snatched a bag from a child, opened it and took away a lunch box,” said Saswati, a resident of Kaushambi.

Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation officials say they are not responsible for it. “Forest department officials are supposed to deal with the issue. Corporation has nothing to do with it,” said Jitendra Singh, MCG commissioner.