PUNE, Feb 12: Monkeys are giving a hard time to the students at St Vincent's High School located in Pune cantonment. As many as five of its students are on anti-rabies injections. They were either bitten or scratched by the primates in the past five months.From monkeying around on the school play ground to snatching tiffins and attacking students, the menace has been growing. Irked parents have been demanding that the mischief makers should either be caught or shot.In the beginning the monkeys used to watch discreetly from their perch on the branches of surrounding trees and be content with upsetting the rare lunch box. Things are now changing by the day as the primates are venturing into classrooms, particularly VII C and VIII D, which have windows near the trees.The menace has grown so much in the past few months that Father Kenny Misquitta, principal of the school, has written to Police Commissioner K K Kashyap asking him to put an end to their troubles as he cannot continue to teach in such a fearful atmosphere.``They come in pairs, or even in groups of seven or eight. I have written to the cantonment board, the Pune Municipal Corporation and even the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. While the board said they had no equipment to catch the monkeys, the other two have not even bothered to reply to my letters,'' says Father Misquitta. Aware of the Rabies threat that scratched children face, parents have been demanding action from the school.``The monkeys which were earlier limited to the school stadium and field have now started visiting classrooms also, and their presence is enough to create panic amongst young children and teachers,'' says Fr Misquitta. The letter to the CP resulted in a visit by representatives form Peshwe Park. ``They told us to call them up whenever the monkeys appear but by the time we inform them and they come here, the monkeys are gone,'' says Fr Misquitta.Nilofer Sheikh, the parent of standard VII student Mohammad Sheikh, has also demanded action from the school. Her son was bitten and has received the anti-rabies injection.However, for some of the students the primates are a source of great camaraderie and amusement. Says Jayesh Shikarpure, a student from standard IX D: ``Once the monkeys came in a group of seven or eight and disrupted a scouts meeting we were having on the field. One of them caught hold of my leg and tripped me also''.Jayesh emphasises that he likes to have them around as they add a feel of the wildlife to the school and don't attack unless provoked by students. ``Monkeys are a part of our school and I like them to be around. It's real fun when they scare students out of classrooms,'' adds Wendel D'souza, a student from standard VII B.
