Ahead of the Winter Session, the Lok Sabha secretariat tells parliamentarians not to make eye contact with monkeys.
New Delhi: The Lok Sabha secretariat Monday issued a circular enumerating “general steps” to deal with the monkey menace at Parliament, months after Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu sought solutions for the problem.
Coming ahead of the Winter Session, the circular asks parliamentarians not to “make eye contact” with the simians and “not to run” while passing monkey groups. Moreover, if a vehicle (two-wheeler specifically) collides with a monkey, “do not stop there.” Feeding the monkeys is obviously off-limits, as is “teasing” them.
“Leave them alone, and they will leave you alone,” reads the circular.
“Kho-kho” sounds are a normal “bluff” and must not be construed by any parliamentarian as a sign of concern.
“Ignore the monkey and walk away calmly,” reads the circular.
Loud noises also compel the monkeys to leave any premises, it further adds.
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Plagued by monkeys
The Lok Sabha secretariat’s move came in the wake of Naidu’s call for solutions in Rajya Sabha in July. Naidu made the comments after an MP was ‘late to Parliament’ as he was held up by monkeys.
Despite the fact that the New Delhi Municipal Corporation has spent a lot to counter the problem, it continues to persist across the national capital.
The issue had caught international attention in 2014 after nearly 40 men, dressed in ape suits (like langurs), were hired to drive away the macaques from Parliament House. Had the ape-people failed, rubber bullets guns were to be deployed in the fight against the adversary, Naidu had said. He was the Union Minister for Urban Development at the time.
The man-ape move was launched after a 2013 Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) circular stated that it is illegal to use langurs to scare away monkeys. Langurs are listed under Schedule-II of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, which makes them a protected species.