14-yr-old bit by langur in Ghatkopar

Despite repeated complaints by residents of Chitranjan society, Ghatkopar, to the forest department, visitors at the neighbouring Pramod Mahajan Park have been facing

Despite repeated complaints by residents of Chitranjan society, Ghatkopar, to the forest department, visitors at the neighbouring Pramod Mahajan Park have been facing constant threats from langurs roaming freely in the area.

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On Saturday, a 14-year-old girl who was at the park was bitten by a primate.

Residents allege that over the last one-and-half year, the population of langurs and monkeys has grown in the area. They claim earlier there were only two monkeys, but now their population has increased to around 10.

“I had gone to the garden for a walk when a baby monkey held my leg. He scratched my calf and bit me. A few people who came to my rescue mentioned that it wasn’t the first time monkeys have attacked someone,” said Jiya Shah, a Class 9 student of Universal School.

Residents alleged they have complained to the forest department, but no monkeys were caught.

Many houses have also suffered damages with langurs and monkeys entering kitchen, gardens and terraces of the houses around the park.

“These monkeys often come and sit at our window. Some months ago, they broke our car’s wiper and house window. I was hurt while trying to chase them,” said Hetal Sanghvi, homemaker, who resides opposite the park.

“We kept a trap near our house for more than 10 days to catch monkeys. However none of the monkeys was caught,” added Sanghvi.

Girish Kamdar, a resident of Chitranjan society that comprises row houses, said they had requested the officials of the forest department to tranquilise and capture the langurs and release them into forests.

Santosh Kank, range forest officer, Mumbai, said while they had received complaints of monkey attacks a few months ago, they hadn’t received a fresh complain.

“We usually do not capture monkeys unless we receive a complaint of people being attacked. Also, in this case, we had also found that people were feeding monkeys, and we had instructed them against it. Monkeys get violent if they don’t get food after being fed earlier,” said Kank.

“We will act once we receive a complaint,” Kanak added.

Pawan Sharma, founder and president of Resqink Association for Wildlife Welfare (RAWW) said that though monkeys are found in and around the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, many exist and co-exist with people in the city.

“A monkey attacking someone is rare. The incident of attack on 14-year-old girl needs to be investigated and evaluated by the authorities concerned so no further harm is caused to the animals or residents,” said Sharma.