Monkey catcher fail to catch monkeys

The South civic authority continues to struggle to catch monkeys, despite the failure of its plan to provide accommodation for monkey catcher. Officials from the civic body say that at least one monkey bite case per day is reported to the capital.

The South body offered accommodation for a group of monkey-catchers from delhi at the badarpur area community centre six months ago in the hope that it would intensify the monkey catch drive. Sharma, MCD director, veterinary department said that the group failed to catch one monkey and they left within six months.

A Rs 20,000 bill of electricity was also left by the catchers, which South MCD will need to pay, according to another official.

The civic body tried several other methods to encourage monkey-catchers. It offered twice as much money than other civic bodies, advertised in newspapers, hired langur handlers, and provided food for them at specific feeding areas. However, not all of the techniques worked.

According to South MCD's data, there were 4,165 cases this year of monkey bites. 311 monkeys were caught by the corporation between July and July. Last year, 623 monkeys were caught by the corporation.

Officials at the South body stated that monkey-catching requires more resources than they currently possess. "We pay most for monkey-catching in India and yet we have only one monkey-catcher." A South body official said that they had spent thousands advertising in India to help monkey-catchers. "Monkey catcher are often confronted by people who force them to release monkeys... but so many don't come forward."