Govt hires langur mimics for monkey control
To control the monkey problem in and around the Vidhan Sabha complex, the Delhi Government is hiring individuals skilled in mimicking langur sounds. The Public Works Department (PWD) has floated a tender to deploy trained personnel capable of mimicking langur calls — a method considered effective and humane to scare away monkeys without causing them harm.
The plan includes bringing an actual langur to increase effectiveness and ensure the handlers work in compliance with safety norms. This effort, with a focus on humane animal control, follows past incidents where monkeys violated the Assembly’s security. The move comes amid frequent incidents of monkeys straying into the Assembly complex, posing safety risks to legislators, staff and visitors.
This is not the first attempt to address the issue. The process of identifying a suitable agency began as early as 2020 and contracts were signed earlier, including in 2022.
According to officials, there were plans to put langur cutouts, but it was seen that monkeys no longer get scared of them. Instead, they sit atop those cutouts,” officials added. The expert will also bring a langur to scare monkeys away.
In 2017, a monkey entered the house, prompting then speaker Ram Niwas Goel to flag the risk of MLAs getting bitten. Officials said the problem continued despite multiple deterrence measures over the years.
PWD issued a tender on Wednesday to engage monkey control services on the assembly premises at an estimated cost of Rs 17.5 lakh.
As per the plan, the Delhi Assembly plans to deploy trained handlers on working days and on Saturdays, with each person working an eight-hour shift. The agency will also be responsible for ensuring proper equipment, discipline and compliance with safety norms during operations.
There will be performance-based monitoring and insurance coverage for deployed personnel. Notably, the authorities had steps to deploy langur mimics and put up cut-outs of the simians at vantage points to scare away monkeys during the G20 Summit in the national capital. The authorities had claimed that the unchecked population of monkeys had led to their ever-increasing numbers across the city, including in New Delhi areas (Lutyens’ Delhi), with the animals loitering around and often attacking and biting people. In view of this, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) and the Forest Department of the city government had taken steps to ensure that monkeys are not allowed to play spoilsport during the important G20 summit.
Several agencies, including the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, had used langurs to scare away monkeys. However, the practice was banned following a Union environment ministry circular in Nov 2012. Since then, authorities relied on people mimicking langur calls, though the results were often inconsistent.
To fight the monkey menace, the New Delhi Municipal Council had hired 40 people who disguise themselves as langurs to scare away the simians from around Parliament in 2014.
The men make screeching noises similar to those of black-faced langur monkeys, to frighten red-faced macaque monkeys.
Delhi’s large population of stray monkeys has been a long-standing problem and they are considered a public nuisance. They have caused havoc, riding on the city’s metro trains, and roaming through parliament, invading the prime minister’s office and the defence ministry.
