Monkeys spread terror among residents at Maduranthagam

Over the past two months, the residents of Chithavadi, Thandalam, and Ramapuram in Maduranthagam are hassled, as the monkeys are entering their houses every day, damaging the plants and even attacking the children who are playing outside.

“The monkeys are attacking the children and grabbing the eatables from them. They are even troubling the motorists who pass through the road. Because of the monkey menace, the delivery men are also not willing to come inside the locality. Instead, they are asking residents to pick up their parcel from any pickup store,” said Geetha from Maduranthagam.

The locals claimed that whenever they inform the Forest department, the monkeys are caught. But within a few days, they are released at the same place. They also complained that the Forest staff were demanding money from them to catch the monkeys.

“Most of the school students in the locality are afraid to come out of the house, and they skip school because of the monkeys that are roaming outside. If one monkey spots a child with any eatable in hand, all of them surround the child and grab the eatable. If the child refuses to let go, they attack and snatch the snacks,” said another resident.

When contacted, Maduranthagam Forest ranger said, “None of our staff would demand money and they are catching the monkeys as much as they can. After catching them, we will monitor them for a few days. Then, they are released into forest area as per the rule. So far we have caught hundreds of monkeys.”