With just days left for the Group of 20 (G20) Summit, authorities in Delhi are making sure that dignitaries and leaders don't get to see any "monkey business" in the national capital. To tackle the monkey menace during the summit, authorities have hired a group of 30-40 "monkey men" who can mimic the sounds of a langur and erected life-size cutouts of grey langurs and scare away smaller monkeys, AFP reported.
The population of the primates has increased across the city, including in Lutyens' Delhi area, where the summit will be held, with the animals often seen attacking and biting people.
To avoid scenarios where monkeys may charge in front of the conveys of cars ferrying presidents and prime ministers from G20 nations, life-size cutouts of the langur have been installed near G20 venues.
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Over a dozen cutouts of langur have been placed in areas like Sardar Patel Marg, that are heavily infested with monkeys, PTI reported.
"We can't remove the monkeys from their natural habitat, so we have deployed a team of 30-40 men who are trained to scare away monkeys," Satish Upadhyay, the vice-chairman of the New Delhi Municipal Council, told AFP.
"We will deploy one man each at the hotels where the delegates would be staying, as well as in places where monkey sightings have been reported," Upadhyay further said.
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The "monkey wallahs" or "monkey men" mimic the hoots and sounds of the langur to scare away smaller monkeys.
A government official said that the trained “monkey men” were registered with them and were hired as they "are effective in scaring away monkeys" by mimicking langurs.
With several areas in Delhi being given a facelift in view of the upcoming G20 Summit, the monkeys have damaged plants and flowers.
Upadhyay said the authorities would keep fruits and vegetables at strategic locations so that the monkeys do not come out in human settlements in search of food, PTI rpeorted.
Delhi has been under an intense beautification drive since India assumed the G20 presidency last year. Sardar Patel Marg, which connects New Delhi to the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport, has been given a facelift with installations of statues, fountains, street furniture and a lot of greenery and plants since all the delegates and dignitaries for the summit will pass through the road, PTI reported.