Photo: Binod Pariyar/Himal Press
The residents of Wards 1-6 of Butwal Sub-Metropolitan City are living under the constant threat of monkey attacks for the past many days.
BUTWAL: People’s representatives in Butwal are facing a new challenge as flocks of monkeys are causing chaos in the sub-metropolis.
City denizens have approached the local government after the monkeys started attacking people and stealing food from homes and eateries in the market area. These monkeys even attack people who try to chase them.
Residents in areas of Wards 1-6, including Old Butwal, Mainabagar, Fulfari, Golpark, Chidiyakhola, Jyotinagar, Amarpath, Kalikaknagar, and Devinagar close to the forest, are experiencing the worst of the problem. Haqi Mohammad from Butwal-1 said the local people are struggling with the monkey attacks, which occur almost daily. “They attack people who try to chase them,” he said.
Locals like Bhumriam Panthi of Butwal-2 have urged the local government to find a solution to control the monkey population as soon as possible.
Narendra Basnet, chairman of Ward-1 of Butwal Sub-Metropolitan City, stated that the local government was searching for ways to control the monkey population. “We cannot kill the monkeys, nor take them under control easily. The ward office is exploring options to mitigate the issue which has been causing trouble for the past five years,” he added.
The Ward-5 Office, meanwhile, is planning to allocate 100,000 rupees to build a cage to house the mischievous monkeys. Ward Chairman Hari Shrestha stated that they were in discussions with the Livestock Department of the metropolis for the same.
Experts say that monkeys are moving into human settlements as they are unable to find food in the nearby Chure hill forests. Jhabindra Banjande, the chief of the Livestock Department of the sub-metropolis, stated that the shortage of food is driving monkeys towards human settlements. “The nearby forests look dense but they lack fruit-bearing trees,” he added.
Banjade believes that the problem can be solved by arranging food for the monkeys.
Some 500 monkeys are estimated to roam in human settlements in the Butwal Sub-metropolitan City.
