Simian menace: NDMC brings in teasing guns to scare away monkeys in city
After failing to control monkey menace in its area through various means, the New Delhi Municipal Council has now brought in rubber bullet guns to scare away the animal.
The civic agency has procured two teasing guns which the monkey catching squad will use to check the monkey menace in the areas under its jurisdiction.
‘The guns will have rubber bullets and will be completely harmless. They will function on gas and will produce a sound loud enough to scare away the animal,’ PK Sharma, medical health officer, NDMC said.
The price of a single gun is between Rs 40,000-Rs 50,000, Sharma said, adding the guns will be used as a pilot project to see the success rate.
The guns will be first tested in areas like North and South Block, Race Course (PM's residence),
Sardar Patel Marg, among others.
The step was taken after repeated failure by the agency to control the menace in the area over the years.
Complaints especially from the VVIPs and parliamentarians have increased over a period of time.
The officer said that besides the VVIP areas, they will also test the guns on the basis of the complaints by the residents.
If the animal is creating a problem in the area, the residents can call the helpline and inform the agency which will then send its monkey catching squad with the trial guns.
There are around 7000 monkeys in the NDMC area.