KOLHAPUR: For months, farmers in Satara’s Malharpeth area found themselves locked in a daily battle against uninvited guests. Monkey troops raided fields, leapt across rooftops, damaged household items and feasted on standing crops. This week, however, relief finally arrived as the Malharpeth forest department captured 75 nuisance-causing monkeys in the region and relocated them to a forest habitat.The special operation, carried out in Kadamwadi and Dinduklewadi villages, comes after repeated complaints from residents who said the growing monkey population had turned farming and village life into a constant struggle.“Since last year, the number of monkeys in various villages in the Malharpeth area has increased significantly. In addition to damaging crops in the fields, these monkey gangs also used to jump on the roofs of houses and destroy household items. There were frequent incidents of vandalism and damage to agricultural products. After repeated complaints, we are thankful that finally these monkeys have been trapped,” said Kiran Dashwant, the sarpanch of Malharpeth gram panchayat.Forest officials said complaints of crop losses and monkey-related nuisance had been steadily mounting over the past few months, prompting a focused trapping drive.“Due to the increasing nuisance of monkeys, citizens had repeatedly complained to the forest department demanding their control. Farm-loss complaints were also on the rise. To avoid further nuisance, these monkeys were caught in cages and later released in a safe habitat away from their original place,” said Patan range forest officer Rajesh Nalawade.Officials said all 75 monkeys were trapped safely and released into a suitable natural habitat, ending what villagers described as a long-running reign of terror by the marauding primates.
