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Journalism of Courage
Forest dept quick to attend to simian complaints in VVIP areas, but provides no such safety ring to the common man
While complaints of monkey menace in VVIP areas have prompted the Forest Department to act swiftly, the common man, who is constantly harassed by the simians is yet to get any such attention.
In yet another incident of monkey menace in Lucknow, a child ragpicker was mauled by a monkey in Pragati Vihar colony on Saturday around 7 am. Jairul Islam was rushed to the hospital, where he was administered ten stitches on his cheek.
Locals immediately informed the forest department but the officials reached the area after 10 am even though their office is less than five km from the spot.
8220;The team came around 10.30 am. We have been lodging regular complaints with the department for the last few days. We are always told that they will visit the area with a trap but they have never taken any action,8221; Krishnanand Pandey, a local resident, said.
He added, 8220;Department officials visited the area only when locals protested after today8217;s incident.8221;
Subsequently, the department sent a team to the colony with a langur.
8220;We are trying to catch the monkey but it has managed to escape. We will try to catch it tomorrow. We also have a langur to scare the away the monkey,8221; said B N Singh, range officer, Kukrail.
A department team, meanwhile, has been doing the rounds of the Governor House, with a langur in tow, for the last two days.
8220;We received a complaint from the Governor House on Thursday. We were told that the monkeys even barged into the kitchen and created ruckus. We rushed our team to the spot with a langur,8221; said a senior Forest Department official.
Monkey menace is not new in Pragati Vihar colony. A week ago, a monkey had mauled Ashutosh 12, son of a vegetable seller. 8220;The monkey severely injured his hand. Only when locals fired airguns, it ran away,8221; said Manvendra, a resident of the colony.
