Monkey menace in villages of Balasore

BALASORE: Residents of five villages in Raghunathpur panchayat within Singla police limits are living in fear owing to attack by monkeys.

At least 50 people of the villages have been bitten by the monkeys and the condition of 10 is stated to be critical. The villagers are wary of venturing out of their houses after sunset and even if they do, they carry bamboo sticks or tree branches for safety. The menace has taken a toll on attendance at schools as children are afraid of attending classes.

Swarnalata Mohanty of Singla said her husband Prasant was critically injured after he was attacked by a group of monkeys while he was returning home from market on Sunday evening. He was admitted to Baliapal CHC and later shifted to FM medical college and hospital from where he was taken to SCB medical college and hospital in Cuttack as his condition deteriorated.

The villagers said a group of 10 monkeys has been creating havoc in the panchayat for a month. The simians’ fear among the locals is such that farmers of the panchayat have not yet harvested their crops. The monkeys have also caused widespread damage to vegetable crops in the panchayat.