KARANJA (WARDHA), JULY 29: As waters of the Kar river rose perilously due to incessant rains recently in the submerged lands of the newly-built Khairi dam near Jaurwada Khurd village here, fifteen monkeys marooned in the area seemed destined to meet a watery grave. Hanging precariously from tree-tops and with no hope in sight, it seemed only divine intervention could save them.Fortunately, `Operation Rescue Monkeys', launched by the Karanja Forest Department on Friday managed to save the lives of six of them. And with the operation likely to continue, the rest of them too hope to get a new lease of life.The operation, however, was replete with a lot of drama and tension as officials of the forest and irrigation department, led by range forest officer, Pradeep Mandre, launched their mission in the morning. Two boats were hired from the International Meritech Private Ltd., Nagpur for the purpose.One boat was filled with eatables, including vegetables, fruits, breads, gram etc. As the monkeys had already devoured not just all the leaves on the trees they hung from, but also their bark, they were on the brink of starvation. In another boat, sat the rescue-team.To their horror, midway through the mission, the rescue-team discovered that their boat had a leak. A man was then specially employed to keep throwing water out. The boat with the eatables was parked near the tree on which the monkeys were marooned, but none of them came down to touch the food.After much cajoling and prodding by the men, one of the younger monkeys, unable to resist the temptation, jumped down on the boat. But in its nervousness it fell in the water. Somehow, the monkey managed to save itself from drowning. This proved to be such a terrifying lesson for the others that none dared to come down again.The rescue-team members continued with their mission the whole afternoon, trying to lure the monkeys, but to no avail. Finally, it was decided to catch hold of the monkeys. Not that it was easy though. The men had to ward off snarls and bites of the terrified monkeys even as they managed to tie six of them in sacks, before bringing them ashore. Rest of the monkeys might have to endure another anxious night before they can be saved.A large crowd from surrounding villages had gathered since morning to watch the operation. Vilas Wankhede, resident of Karanja said it was only when the matter was reported in the newspapers that the forest department decided to save the monkeys.Incidentally, it was only for the first time that the area got submerged because of heavy rainfall. This was because the Khairi dam had prevented the passage of the rain-water on the hilly slope.Bandar pani ke andar had become some sort of a joke which had attracted the local villagers to the spot. ``While the Government has rehabilitated the project-oustees so successfully, it failed in doing the same to the monkeys,'' said one of the villagers in a lighter vein.However, Jhanaklal Motiram Kumena, Sarpanch of the Jaurkheda village, said that the villagers had watched the marooned animals in utter helplessness. Some of the villagers did manage to reach the spot, but failed to rescue any of them.Luckily, despite facing the severest of odds, all the monkeys managed to survive the 10-day ordeal, though they seemed extremely weak, depressed and irritated. The rescued monkeys will be left in nearby forests after primary treatment, assured the Range Forest Officer.
