Farmers in remote villages in Udayapur have been forced to abandon their ancestral properties and migrate to the city after they were unable to control the terror of monkeys in their fields.
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Chakra Bahadur Mangarati of Bhadaure, Tapli Rural Municipality-5, a remote hilly area of Udayapur, had to leave the farmland, ancestral home and village that he had worked hard to till all his life. He was left with no choice after monkeys started destroying the paddy, maize, millet, fruits and vegetables planted in the farmland every year. After adopting various measures, Mangarati and his family could not save the farm, and migrated to Kirtipur in Kathmandu.
He is currently earning a living by working as a daily wage laborer. ‘Farming was our life, but the monkeys did not let us bring in the produce,’ said Mangrati, expressing his pain. ‘After months of suffering were wiped out in an instant, we had no choice but to leave the village.’
Not only Mangrati, many families including Ishwor Nepali, Krishna Mangrati, Sharada Bhattarai, Nar Bahadur Karki from Bhadaure and surrounding villages have been displaced due to the monkey terror. Dinesh Khiligen of Tapli-5 Madale is also suffering the same. ‘We could never bring the corn planted in the fields into the house,’ he said. ‘We cannot wait for the monkeys 24 hours a day, we never know when they will come and destroy everything, we finally have to leave the fields barren and migrate.’
After the farmers were harassed, the Tapli rural municipality had allocated Rs 800,000 in the fiscal year 081/082 to purchase a gun to drive away the monkeys. Guns were distributed to 42 tole development organizations at the rate of one police station. According to rural municipality chairman Dhungraj Bishwakarma, in the beginning, monkeys used to run away at the sound of guns. ‘They would run away as soon as they heard the first sound,’ he said, ‘now they have stopped caring even when guns are fired.’ Since they cannot be killed legally, other control measures have not been effective.’
Uddhav Khatri, a farmer from Gurans, Katari Municipality-2, is worried after monkeys started destroying the buds on mango trees. He said that the effort is wasted as the monkeys destroy them from the moment they start flowering.
According to locals, as the forests are being destroyed, monkeys, who have not found enough food in the forest, have started entering settlements. Now, there are increasing complaints that they are not only causing trouble in farmlands, but also in homes. Katak Bahadur Magar of Dhagre, Udayapurgadhi Rural Municipality-4, says, ‘We keep watch all day long.’ Sometimes a mob comes and destroys everything.’ Locals say that monkeys have started destroying not only vegetables and fruits in the vegetable garden, but also the materials kept in the garden of the house.
According to Balraj Rai of Tamliksha, Limchungbung Rural Municipality-2, the problem has become more complicated due to the lack of young manpower in the village. ‘The youth have gone abroad and to the city in search of employment,’ he said, ‘There are only old people and children in the village.’ According to him, the behavior of the monkeys has also become more aggressive than before. ‘Earlier, they used to run away when we chased them away, but now they come and attack us,’ he said.
Despite repeated discussions by the local levels, an effective solution to control the monkeys has not yet been found. According to Katari Municipality Mayor Rajesh Chandra Shrestha, this problem is not limited to Udayapur. ‘Farmers across the country are suffering from monkey terror,’ he said, ‘There is no way the local level can solve it alone.’ The federal government needs to formulate a clear policy and implement a long-term solution.’ Experts say that the fragmentation of cultivable land in hilly villages, the displacement of farmers, and the decline in agricultural production are not just local problems but also a challenge linked to national food security. But the government still seems to lack an effective policy and action plan.
