Chembur sees breaking & entering by monkeys

Monkeys in Chembur has been creating quite a stir in the residential localities. With a sudden burst in numbers, instances of these animals entering homes have increased, with residents mulling ways to prevent such break-ins.

"Earlier this week, four adult monkeys entered our home. We were shocked to see them moving around in our house. We are now planning to put up net on our windows to keep them from entering," said Savithri M, a resident of Safal Heights next to Maitri Park in Chembur.According to the residents, monkeys have been sighted in the area for over a fortnight now, and that their population has only been increasing with each passing day. The residents claim that the monkeys enter kitchens in search of food and even take away valuable objects from their homes.

However, it is not a first-time incident. "A couple of years ago, the same thing had happened. As our alerts to forest department and the civic body went unanswered, I had to call monkey handlers (madari) to drive them away," added Raj Kumar Sharma, an activist from Diamond Garden in Chembur.Sharma added that this time they have been spreading their presence from Ashish Theatre to Maitri Park to Diamond Garden.

"We were unaware about the Chembur area incidents, but just yesterday (Friday) we caught a monkey from under a bridge in Bandra. Now, we will send a team to trap the monkeys in Chembur, and release them later," said K P Singh, cheif conservator of forest, Thane forest department.

DO's & DONT's:
Don't heckle a monkey
Stay at a distance, never get within their reach
Keep away food, toys, jewelry, glasses, etc from monkeys
Protect yourself by barricading yourself
Notify the authorities