2 primates entering homes, stealing food and destroying household items; forest depart yet to take action.
Residents of Cuffe Parade are struggling to get “monkeys” off their back. Quite literally.
For the last two weeks, two monkeys have been entering and exiting homes in the area with impunity, willingly destroying household items in their way. Residents here have complained that the fear of monkeys notwithstanding, even the forest department has turned a deaf ear to their pleas to resolve the menace.
In mid-October the residents had first spotted two monkeys clambering a building. Following incidents of monkeys wrecking havoc in a few homes, the forest department was approached and according to the residents they were assured that a monkey rescuer would be immediately sent to the society to catch the monkeys. However, residents said the department was yet to make good its promise.
Neelam Rallan, a resident of Sainara Apartments, said, “On Monday, the two monkeys not only entered my home by opening a window, but also ate all the dry fruits and created nuisance in my drawing room. My mother is bed-ridden and food is kept close to the window by her bedside. I fear next time these monkeys may even harm her to get their hands on the food.”
Another resident said that in more than 26 years, it was the first time he had seen monkeys in the area. “It has been more than a fortnight that we are facing this issue but there has been no action from the forest officials so far,” said Haresh Hathiramani.
In spite of repeated attempts to contact deputy conservator of forests, Kishore Thakare of the Thane forest department, he remained unavailable for comment.
