The population of monkeys is increasing in Babanasam and Sivanthipuram areas of the Tirunelveli district in Tamil Nadu. Last week, three people, including an old woman named Thangam were attacked by monkeys. So far, a total of five people have been bitten by monkeys and are being treated in the hospital.
The forest department has captured the monkeys and released them into the forest. Recently, a Class 8 boy named Muthuraman was playing near Sivanthipuram Veda Temple. Suddenly, a white-faced monkey attacked the boy and seriously injured his leg. The boy was immediately admitted to Ambasamudram Government Hospital for treatment.
After this incident, people requested the forest department to capture all the monkeys roaming around the area. Mundanthura Tiger Reserve Director Ilayaraja shared that a special committee has been set up by the forest department to capture monkeys in the Sivanthipuram area.
More than a hundred monkeys have been caught by the forest department to prevent them from damaging the electric cables of the CCTV cameras at the two counting centres here.
Officials of the forest department said that two counting centres, the State Market Committee Complex and the Shanmuga Industries Arts and Science College have EVMs used for the Lok Sabha constituencies of Tiruvannamalai and Arani in the district. Efforts to capture monkeys at these centres will continue till June 4, the day of counting.
There is a three-tier security protection at these centres, which includes armed security personnel. Besides, over 200 CCTV cameras have been set up with a common control room as part of the security arrangements. “The security personnel have noticed monkeys hanging on the electric cables connected to the CCTV cameras. Hence, we have been tasked with capturing monkeys at the centres to prevent any damage to the surveillance system,” said GP Saravanan, Forest Officer.
On the instructions of Collector D Bhaskara Pandian, a 15-member forest team has been deputed on a rotation basis for the purpose. The captured monkeys were released in Theppakadu RF, which is about 10 km from the town.
The forest officials explained that the increasing flow of visitors and distribution of free food by voluntary organisations has led to a rise in the number of monkeys straying from the forests around Annamalai Hills onto the roads.
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