Monkeys unite MPs on ‘9 to 5’ job for langur

In a letter written on November 10,Javadekar asked the MPs to contribute towards monthly expense of Rs 7,000 for employing a langur from 9 am to 5 pm job. “The menace of monkeys has increased tremendously at our residences on Mahadev Road. The cost of employing a langur is Rs 7,000 per month. He will be available from 9 to 5 and stay at one of the MP bungalows during the remaining part of the day. I propose that we pool in equally for the expense to resolve the problem,” Javadekar wrote.

Though a few MPs were quick to respond in the affirmative,the pool-in scheme posed a technical problem — the langur had to move around and could not be kept at one place to deter the monkeys. “A few MPs told me they were ready to pool in money. But we realised that the monkeys will go to bungalows other than where a langur was stationed. If he was kept at the front,Monkeys unite MPs on ‘9 to 5’ job for langur they would emerge at the staff quarters at the back. And if he was tied to a tree outside,no monkey will be scared. So the langur has to move about to chase them away. Therefore,I later wrote to the NDMC chief officer who is now sending a langur for taking a few rounds of the road,” says Javadekar.

For the MPs to breathe easy,now a starved-looking langur takes a leisurely stroll at Mahadev road and has been able to scare away monkeys twice his size and many times his number. On New Year’s day,her owner Sahil was away so his cousin Gul Khan brought in his langur,Lajwanti,and her son Pawan on his motorbike to perform the ritual. And the MPs do not mind sparing potatoes and bread for the langurs as they enjoy the afternoon sun sitting on walls that divide their bungalows.

“Langurkeeping is our ancestral profession,” says Gul Khan,whose langur looks after the North Block from 6 am to 2 pm everyday and has been issued an identity card as ‘langurwala’ by the Ministry of Home Affairs. “Our family is providing langurs at North and South Blocks,Shastri Bhawan,Krishi Bhawan,Press Trust of India building and Akashwani Bhawan. The very scent of a langur is enough to scare monkeys away and they are quick to convey the presence of a langur in the vicinity to their friends nearby,” he says.

Congress MP from Gurdaspur,Pratap Singh Bajwa,says langurs are a part of the problem. “When langurs are brought to the office of the Election Commission in the back of our area,monkeys barge into our homes. They throw away covers of our water tanks and disturb the cable network. I have not responded to Javadekar’s proposal but the BJP spokesperson should demand action on monkey menace along with the demand for a JPC on the 2G spectrum issue,” he said.