Monkey menace issue comes up in MCD house

New Delhi, Oct 30 (UNI) The issue of monkey menace in Delhi, which earlier this month claimed the life of Deputy Mayor S S Bajwa, today figured in the MCD House with the Leader of the House Subhash Arya calling upon the Centre and the State Government for support to tackle the problem.

Speaking on a short notice discussion on the issue in the MCD House, Mr Arya said the Centre and the State Government should ensure that the governments of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Uttaranchal allow monkeys trapped by the authorities in Delhi to be sent in their forests.

''Presently, the monkeys caught by the authorities in Delhi are sent to the the sanctuary at the Asola Bhati mines managed by the Wildlife department of the Delhi Government. However, the sanctuary can house only 5000 monkeys. So, there is aneed to find a place for the remaining monkeys,'' Mr Arya added.

Stating that the responsibility for tackling the problem of Monkeys lay with the Centre and the Delhi Government, Mr Arya said,''the responsibility of the upkeep of the caught monkeys rests with the Delhi Government. Infact, to tackle the menace, the court has constituted an enforecement committee headed by the chief wildlife warden of the Delhi Government.'' The Supreme Court had in a recent order said tackling the monkey menace was the joint responsibility of the MCD, the Delhi government wildlife department and the NDMC, Mr Arya said.

UNI