HP govt committed to deal with monkey menace

Himachal Pradesh government is taking effective measures to deal with monkey menace and a multi-pronged strategy is being adopted to prevent damages to standing crops and save the common people, an official said.
The Forest Minister has assured that the state government would bring a resolution in the next Vidhan Sabha session seeking permission for lifting ban on export of monkeys to provide some relief to the people, vice chairman of Himachal Pradesh Forest Development Corporation Kewal Singh Pathania said here today.
Concerned about spurt in incidents of monkey menace in various parts of the state in the recent past, he said that the government had taken comprehensive steps as per the international norms to check this menace and added that more than 85,000 monkeys had been sterilised till date in seven monkey sterilisation centres.

The governments had put up hoardings to discourage pilgrims from feeding monkeys and stray animals along the highways and would also explore the possibilities of subsidising fencing of agricultural fields of the farmers to protect them from attack of wild animals.