“Around 80 to 90 monkeys were set at large here about three weeks ago,” Achut Bastakoti, a shopkeeper, said adding, “The behavior of these monkeys is very different from that of other monkeys seen here before.”[break]
According to him, these monkeys are very much used to human touch, and locals have pointed to the possibility that they could be from a bio-medical research center in Lele, Lalitpur.
Around 186 monkeys were released in the Shivapuri National Park a few months ago and they created similar havoc for locals there.
Gaushala folks also said that when the monkeys were first noticed three weeks ago, they were healthy and strong, but they are now thin and weak.
“I have worked in this area for 20 years but I have never seen such a large number of monkeys on the loose,” Bastakoti said. “These monkeys have destroyed vegetables and flowers in my garden. I have lost almost everything I cultivated there,” he added.
Another victim, Krishna Lamsal, said, “Nowadays my house is packed with the monkeys who have almost taken over my courtyard.” He added, “I am helpless and the authorities are doing nothing.”
Locals said people initially fed the monkeys generously and the latter are now thronging the houses. “We fed the monkeys as they are roaming about helplessly,” said Basanta Bahadur Shrestha.
The Pashupati Area Development Trust has said that it has no idea how the monkeys turned up.
Bhola Prashad Sitaula, a staffer at the Trust, said, “We have no information when they (monkeys) were released here and in what numbers.”
“We heard from locals that around 100 were released, but no one informed us at the time,” Sitaula added.
Contrary to local allegations, the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC) has denied releasing any monkeys from the Lele center at Gaushala.
“We have not released any monkeys from Lele at Gaushala,” Megh Bahadur Pandey, deputy director-general of DNPWC, told Republica.
He said DNPWC has “no idea” how the monkeys landed there.
DNPWC, however, called an emergency meeting with the National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC) and the District Forest Office on Thursday and it has given written instructions to NTNC “to do the needful” in coordination with the forest office to help locals rid themselves of the monkey nuisance immediately.
A team led by monkey expert Mukesh Chalise has submitted a report recommending use of monkey repellants like chili powder as an immediate solution.
“The team has even suggested providing a regular supply of food to the monkeys or shifting them away from the area altogether,” Pandey said.
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