Simian saviour

This year, the ubiquitous monkey menace around Raisina Hill has gotten so bad that it found a mention in Parliament, with former Union minister Rajeev Shukla referring to it in connection with the destruction of files in the home ministry. "Files in the home ministry are in such bad condition that old files are strewn all over the corridors. Whenever a file is lost, it is said that monkeys have taken it away," he said. Shukla added that the menace had worsened after the Bharatiya Janata Party came to power owing to the intervention of one minister - a view widely ratified by bureaucrats and staff in these offices. The minister in question has strongly opposed the standard practice of having a langur brought in to scare away the rhesus macaque, the species that inhabits the area. No prizes for guessing the name of the minister concerned: Maneka Gandhi.