By Syed Zarir Hussain, IANS
Guwahati : Rampaging monkeys in Assam are invading homes, stealing food and soft drinks from refrigerators and fleeing with mobile telephones.
A group of legislators raised questions in the assembly Friday about the monkey menace, pleading for help from the authorities.
“Monkeys are wreaking havoc in my constituency by entering homes and taking away mobile phones and toothpaste. They are also sipping coke after opening the refrigerators,” Hiren Das of the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) said.
And some monkeys are even slapping women who try to chase them, Das said.
Das represents Mangaldoi constituency, about 70 km north of Assam’s main city of Guwahati. The area is home to about 2,000 rhesus monkeys.
Monkeys live close to temples in many parts of India. They are seen as a symbol of Hanuman, the monkey god, and devotees visiting temples often feed them.
While occasional monkey attacks are not uncommon, the sudden surge in attacks on human settlements has experts perplexed.
“The menace is a cause of serious concern in my area. In the day, more than 1,000 monkeys turn aggressive,” said Goneswar Das, a legislator representing Raha in eastern Assam.
Forest and Wildlife Minister Rockybul Hussain promised that the authorities would do their best to chase away monkeys from human settlements.
“We have formed an expert committee to look into the matter and find ways to minimise the problem,” the minister said.
Monkeys apart, scores of stray dogs in the legislators’ colony in Guwahati are giving the lawmakers sleepless nights.
“Dogs roaming around the complex have stolen seven pairs of sandals from my house, besides eating 11 chickens after breaking open the coop,” Das said.
There were similar complaints against the canines from other legislators too. “Some 80 to 90 stray dogs bark throughout the night around the complex making us pass sleepless nights,” said Ajit Singh, a ruling Congress party lawmaker.
Assam assembly Speaker Tanka Bahadur Rai has asked Veterinary Minister Khorsing Ingi to look into the matter.
“I shall instruct my officials to deal with the dog menace,” Ingi told the house.