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Farmers in UP dress up as ‘bear’ to protect crops from monkeys
Farmers in UP take matters into their own hands after monkeys damage crops, and officials neglect the issue.
Farmers have long relied on scarecrows to protect their crops from the intrusion of animals. These straw-filled mannequins standing tall amid the fields instil fear among animals and deter them from feasting on crops. However, in a village in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri, scarecrows were ineffective in keeping monkeys at bay. To tackle this issue, the farmers in the area came up with a unique solution. They decided to wear a ‘bear costume’ to frighten the monkeys and protect their precious crops. This, a farmer claimed, comes after seeking help from authorities but being left without any assistance.
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“Uttar Pradesh | Farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri’s Jahan Nagar village use a bear costume to prevent monkeys from damaging their sugarcane crop. 40-45 monkeys are roaming in the area and damaging the crops. We appealed to authorities but no attention was paid. So we (farmers) contributed money and bought this costume for ₹4,000 to protect our crops, says Gajender Singh, a farmer,” tweeted news agency ANI.
Watch the video here:
After the case came to light, Sanjay Biswal, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Lakhimpur Kheri, assured farmers that the administration would take necessary steps to prevent monkeys from damaging crops.
Take a look at the pictures below:
The post was shared on June 25 by ANI on Twitter. It has since then accumulated over 1.2 million views, and the numbers are still increasing. The share has also prompted many to leave their thoughts in the comments section.
Here’s how people reacted to this ingenious hack:
A Twitter user wrote, “It’s the farmers who are BEARing the burden.” “Modern problems require modern solutions,” added another. A third wrote, “What ingenuity.” “So a bear like a scarecrow isn’t working?” commented a fourth. A fifth added, “Situation is dire in western UP.”
