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Langoors to the rescue: Authorities use baboon cutouts, angry voices to deal with monkey menace in Lucknow
Charbagh railway station authorities have hired 45-year-old Kismet, who mimics the baboon’s voice to shoo away monkeys
Lucknow: As monkeys run amok in several parts of Lucknow, officials have come up with ingenious tricks to shoo them away. For instance, life-size cutouts of langoors (baboons) have been installed at 10 metro stations to ensure the safety of passengers. The authorities also play voices of angry langoors on speakers to contain the monkey menace.
“Initially, we played angry baboon voices on speakers. It did have some impact but not enough. Simians are too smart. They understood the trick and started ignoring the fake baboon voice. Now, the management has decided to display life-size cutouts of baboons. Meanwhile, we continue to play the fake voices as well,” said Pushpa Belani, senior public relations officer of Lucknow Metro.
Following suit, the administration of OCR Buildings at the Burlington Crossing has also installed similar langoor cutouts. The building officials say that the monkey menace has reduced to some extent after the move.
In a similar step, Charbagh railway station authorities have hired 45-year-old Kismet, who mimics the baboon’s voice to shoo away monkeys. “I was the first one to be hired by the railways here. Today, I work with several other men who imitate the baboon’s voice. They work in Aliganj, Indira Nagar, Alambagh, and other areas. Some people even use langoor urine to keep the monkeys at bay,” said Kismet. The station has a footfall of about 1 lakh passengers per day.
Taking the efforts a notch further, the management of the Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS) has brought in actual langoors to scare away monkeys, who often steal from the hospital and patients. The initiative has met partial success, said SGPGIMS officials.
While steps are being taken to reduce the cases of monkey attacks in public spaces, people living in residential colonies say that authorities have been passing the buck on the issue rather than taking preventative steps. “When we reach out to the Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) for help, they ask us to call the forest department, which never comes to our rescue. Contrary to the tall claims of the administration, monkeys are striking everywhere at will, biting individuals, and snatching food items,” said Nikhil Chaturvedi, an Alambagh resident.
Recently, Anoop Nigam of Shastri Nagar colony in the city’s Rakabganj area had to chase a monkey for over half an hour after it ran with his smartphone. He could only recover his phone after the simian dumped it. Similarly, the incidents of monkeys attacking residents are also becoming disturbingly frequent. According to officials, around 50 cases of monkey bites are reported across the city almost every month. Besides, the LMC helpline receives at least one or two calls regarding monkey menace per day. These calls, as per civic officials, should ideally be going to the forest department.
“I hired a langoor and even bought baboon urine from licensed monkey sellers in Pandariba to keep monkeys away from my house. However, whenever monkeys don’t see a langoor around, they go on a rampage. Civic officials must take some concrete steps to address our concerns,” said VS Yadav, another Alambagh resident.
When queried on the matter, mayor Sanyukta Bhatia said, “Recently, during our LMC meeting, it was decided that the forest department would cooperate and coordinate with other departments to address the issue. Also, the LMC has come up with a plan to set up a Vanar Vatika (monkey garden) where captured simians can be released.”
On the question of authorities passing the buck, the additional municipal commissioner of the animal welfare department, Dr Arvind Rao, said, “Ideally, the forest department must set up a helpline to check the simian menace. However, we can coordinate with them in forwarding the problems faced by residents through our helpline numbers.”
Meanwhile, Ravi Kumar Singh, district forest officer, said, “The forest department is keen to work out a mechanism for coordinating problems faced by residents due to monkey menace. We are also ready to work with the LMC to set up monkey habitats. The monkey is a scheduled animal but this does not mean that it cannot be caught by a municipal corporation. The rules say that local bodies can catch monkeys and put them in habitats. We can supervise the LMC in this work. The forest department, along with the mayor, has already marked some areas in Kanha Upvan and Atal Upvan that are ideal for developing monkey habitats.”
