Agra: Tourists visiting the Taj Mahal will now be under safety cover of catapults to scare rampaging monkeys who have been injuring visitors at an alarming frequency.
A group of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) troopers can now be seen inside the Taj with catapults. They do not carry firearms like some of their compatriots. They don’t fight against terrorists, but against the simians who attack visitors at every opportunity. There are hundreds of monkeys waiting to pounce upon unsuspecting visitors, tourist guide Ved Gautam told this agency.
A monkey bite case is reported on a regular basis. Last month the toll stood at 16. The Archaeological Society of India (ASI) has put up notice boards at several places warning tourists of monkeys.
At 15 points, inside the Taj, CISF personnel armed with catapults are ready to take slingshots at the simians, who have turned ferocious. “When they see a catapult aimed against them, the monkeys flee full speed for safety,” a trooper said.
CISF Commandant Braj Bhushan Singh said his men had been given catapults to scare away the monkeys and make tourists feel safe inside the Taj Mahal premises.
A number of plans have been drawn up by various government agencies including the Agra Municipal Corporation after a monkey snatched a baby from a mother’s lap and killed it some two months ago.
Catapults made of plastic and rubber were selling Rs 10 a piece but are now the price has gone up to Rs 20 due to increasing demand all over the city. Vegetable vendors, temple security staff, shopkeepers and domestic servants are all buying catapults.
According to a rough estimate, the number of monkeys in the Agra city area is around 50,000. “Such a big population can neither be provided for nor shifted as there are no forests left. Usually they return to urban areas even if they are transported to remote areas,” said an animal husbandry expert.
“The problem was earlier confined to Mathura and Vrindavan, but now they are all over the Agra city,” informed Shravan Kumar Singh, a green activist.
IANS
