PIONEER EDGE NEWS SERVICE/Haridwar
The Municipal Corporation of Haridwar (MCH) has started a monkey-catching drive to control the growing monkey menace in the city. The campaign began on Wednesday after repeated complaints from residents and ward councillors about increasing disturbances caused by monkeys in several localities. On the first day of the operation, the corporation’s contracted agency succeeded in capturing 12 monkeys from the Kankhal area. According to the officials, the captured monkeys will be released into a forested region under official procedures. Haridwar Mayor Kiran Jaisal stated that the campaign is driven by the imperative to ensure the safety and convenience of the city’s residents. She pledged that the drive will extend across all affected wards in the municipal area. The Haridwar deputy municipal commissioner Deepak Goswami also informed that the entire process is being conducted lawfully and humanely, with an overarching goal of establishing a safer and cleaner environment for citizens. The initiative comes amid mounting frustration among locals over frequent disturbances, ranging from monkeys entering homes or grabbing food items to more aggressive behaviour in public spaces. By stepping up its efforts, the corporation hopes to alleviate the human–monkey conflict that has long been a source of anxiety and inconvenience in the area. The officials said that according to recent reports, prior efforts such as sterilisation drives have met with limited success in reducing monkey numbers in the district, suggesting that additional measures like this catching operation may be needed. With this campaign now in motion, the corporation aims to combine humane capture and relocation measures with continued monitoring to better manage the situation.
