Mumbai: Monkey business in Chembur high-rise!

A troop of monkeys have been giving the residents of Kukreja Residency in Chembur East sleepless nights for over ten days So grave is the situation in the highrise that balconies and windows are kept shut around the clock and some terrorstricken residents have even refused to step out of their homesResidents say that the simians which number 10 to 12 have no problem climbing up to the 14th and 15th floors and they have now started entering homes stealing food and hurling things from the upper floors Some of the residents say that the monkeys have even learned to open sliding windows Kukreja Residency comprises three buildings that have 17 floors eachResidents speakTalking about the menace Ira Chatterjee a resident of A wing said ldquoInitially they climbed windows and would station themselves there Now they are seen freely roaming in the society premises and close to the ground floors They have even started hurling things from the upper floors posing a threat to passersby and children On Wednesday I was returning home from somewhere with my child Just as I reached the lift a glass bottle came crashing down from the fourth floor We were saved by a whisker Later I learnt that the monkeys had barged into someonersquos kitchen on the fourth floor They were also seen moving flower pots on the window This has become very dangerousrdquoDr Shraddha Durve who resides in the B wing said ldquoThey are destroying plants and throwing planters down They are throwing whatever objects they find In my own balcony there were some tiffin boxes I found them lying on the ground today Early in the morning we saw a monkey throwing a soft drink bottle Our kids are going out to play a little but we have instructed them to stay very alert We fear the monkeys might attack them scratch or hurt them Because of the monkey menace my dog keeps barking continuously and is restless all the timerdquoAnother resident Maya Shenoy said ldquoWith each passing day they are easily entering homes stealing and snatching things Everyone is the society is scared They are roaming about freely and if we leave the windows open they just enter and scatter things in our homes We have an infant so we are forced to keep our doors and windows shut all the timerdquoForest officials step inAs the news and videos of monkeys raiding homes and climbing windows went viral on WhatsApp groups Janardhan Bodekar forest round officer and Forest Guard Jyoti Bhonsale visited the society on Wednesday evening ldquoWe have met residents and are evaluating the situation We are investigating this in detail Following this we will conduct an awareness campaign for residents and also take appropriate actionrdquo Bodekar saidMenace on rise across cityRakesh Bhoir range forest officer RFO Mumbai said that the forest department has been getting a minimum of 810 calls a week about monkeys entering the housing societies ldquoThe incidents of monkeys from forest areas visiting residential colonies have increased because people feed them People must refrain from doing so and also ensure there is better waste management On our part if there are one or two monkeys we catch them rescue them and release them into the wild If the number of monkeys is large people should use firecrackers to scare them away but at the same time ensure that they do not hurt the animalsrdquo said BhoirPawan Sharma founder and president Resqink Association for Wildlife Welfare RAWW and Wildlife Warden of Thane district said ldquoThe population of monkeys is increasing rapidly and such incidents of monkeys visiting residential colonies in search of food are expected to rise These incidents are more frequent in areas in the periphery of Sanjay Gandhi National Park and Aarey Milk Colony However in Chembur and nearby areas too there have been known simian habitats especially near BARC Anushakti Nagar Trombay Lal Dongar and the refinery areasrdquoSharma added ldquoBeing aggressive and curious animals they see bamboo scaffolding or gas pipelines They get an opportunity to scavenge and steal from markets households and areas where there is edible waste For us it is waste but for them it is an easy food source There is no set pattern but most cases come up before or after monsoon These complaints are all scattered Recent cases were from areas such as Thane Mulund Bhandup Powai Chandivali Andheri Goregaon Borivli and Kandivli This needs to be studiedrdquo12Maximum no of monkeys spotted