Delhi: Human-langurs to scare away monkeys thronging Parliament

The Indian Parliament’s security arrangements have been taken to a all-new level. To tackle the monkey-menace, the government is keen to show that it’s not going to rely on just on old school methods. It’s going to raise an a whole contingent of langurs. Well, not really. Urban development minister Venkaiah Naidu told Rajya Sabha in a written reply that when it comes to tackling the monkey-menace, New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) has hired 40 young people who will be dressed as langurs to chase away the other monkeys. Naidu also told Rajya that NDMC has acquired “Sure Shot” rubber bullet guns for scaring away the monkeys. Before you think that you are now likely to run into men dressed like langurs the next time you venture into Central Delhi, don’t panic.  While the minister’s remark  and a press release from the PIB indicate that the men will be dressed as langurs, NDMC says that no such measure has been taken. An NDMC official said told Business Standard that men merely “mimic langurs to frighten the monkeys away”. According to reports, the langur is considered to be an animal that frightens monkeys. However, langurs can’t be held in captivity and cannot be used scare the monkeys away. Hence, the decision to have men mimic langurs, was reportedly taken. So how does this mimicking business works? According to a Times of India report when called to a spot where monkeys are running wild, these man-langurs “suddenly appear from behind bushes and trees to drive away the simians through sounds and gestures”. Also the human-langurs have been every effective, adds the report. [caption id=“attachment_1644637” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Langurs outside the Parliament in this 2012 photo. Reuters[/caption] And how much does a human-langur get? “Around Rs 700-800 per ‘visit’” and “get work for around 10-15 days a month, earning anywhere between Rs 7000 to 10,000”, says the report. And what about qualifications? According to the BS report, the civic official expressed ignorance about the educational qualifications of these men, and replied, “We are yet to open a training academy for people to be imparted the art of scaring monkeys." On the more sensible side, it seems NDMC has also started shelling out some money to the forest department to ensure that the monkeys in the area get food and don’t feel the need to travel all the way to the LBZ area. “The department places chickpeas, vegetables and fruits at different spots in the ridge on S P Marg so that the resident monkeys don’t have to come out in search of food,” NDMC chairman Jalaj Srivastava told TOI.