The monkey plague is currently plaguing a large population of the mid-hills from east to west. Not only have farmers' granaries been emptied due to the monkey nuisance, but the villages themselves are becoming empty and ruined.

Migration due to the monkey's misery has now become commonplace. To stop the monkey terror, locals have been trying everything from planting fruits in the forest to cutting trees, firing guns in the fields to staying on guard all day. Laligurans Municipality in Tehrathum even declared a public holiday last Friday to chase away the monkeys.

After being harassed, locals have been demanding that the municipality come up with measures to control the monkeys rather than development plans. Municipalities should generally demand education, health, employment, and infrastructure. But farmers are demanding budget from the government to chase away the monkeys. But the government has neither a solution nor a plan for this. 

Poonam Magar, a farmer from Kintang in Bhirgaun, Dhankuta, is worried about the nuisance of wild monkeys entering the village in search of food.  The monkey terror is also the same in Teliya in Jorpati, Chhathar, Kurule in Chaubise, and Thoka settlement near the district headquarters. In these sparsely populated areas, farmers have no option but to spend five months of the rainy season in the fields to protect their crops from wild animals. He said that farming has stopped in many places due to the trouble of monkeys. 

Monkey control is the first agenda while formulating annual plans in some local levels of Dhankuta.  But that has not reduced the suffering of farmers, said Surya Bahadur Aathpahariya, a local of Thoka, Dhankuta Municipality-4. Development officers of Dhankuta, who are conducting research on monkeys, say that red monkeys, in particular, cause more damage to agricultural crops. 'Studies show that monkeys currently depend on 45 percent of the forest and 55 percent of the crops planted by humans for their food,' he said.

After the increase in the number of monkeys and monkeys destroying crops, locals of Phidim Municipality-4 in Panchthar have been conducting collective patrols. One person from each house has started gathering to protect the crops and drive away the monkeys. Local Somnath Dhakal said that monkeys cause a lot of trouble in the Salghari, Thakle, Thapatar, Tirtire and Saranta areas of Phidim-4, as well as the Hewa Khola area.

After the locals started eating not only the ripe crops in the fields but also the newly planted crop shoots, plant leaves and corn stored in the house, the locals have devised a strategy to drive away the monkeys. The ward office here has allocated a budget of one lakh rupees in the current fiscal year for monkey management. This amount is spent on the lunch of those who work to drive away the monkeys.

Similarly, Kummayak Rural Municipality-1 of Panchthar has hired nine guards to protect the corn crop from monkeys. Their remuneration is provided at the rate of 16,000 rupees per person by filling the door. The ward office has provided monkey-repelling equipment.

Kul Bahadur Pariyar, a local of Shitganga in Arghakhanchi, says that the residents of the western hilly districts including Arghakhanchi and Gulmi have been forced to migrate due to the harassment of monkeys and wild boars. According to him, the number of people migrating from agriculture is increasing rapidly after monkeys and wild boars started destroying crops such as corn, millet, and potatoes. Similarly, according to Leela Pokhre of Panini, the number of people migrating from all eight municipalities of the district in search of employment and a safe life is about 1,700 annually in Arghakhanchi after the suffering of wild animals has made it impossible to save their crops.

The problem is more serious in the settlements near the forest areas of Sheetganga, Bhumikasthan, Malarani, Chhatradev, Panini, and Sandhikharka. Farmers in these areas have filed about 600 applications with the Division Forest Office Arghakhanchi from the fiscal year 79/80 to 82/83, demanding compensation. Local Muktiram Bhandari says that the Forest Office coordinated with the local level to protect crops from monkeys and wild boars and deployed 20 watchmen last year, but it was not effective. Hari Prasad Bhasal, MP elected from Arghakhanchi, has drawn the government's attention to this problem.

In Salyan, there has been an increase in the number of monkeys, wild boars and jackals damaging crops and attacking people and domestic animals. Monkeys, wild boars and jackals are causing huge damage to crops including corn and wheat. Farmers are forced to stay awake in their fields all night to protect their crops. Due to the damage that occurs every year, farming has been stopped in some places.

According to the Division Forest Office, Salyan, 114 applications were received for relief in the previous fiscal year for damage to crops, livestock and humans caused by wild animals. Office Chief Tek Bahadur Rawal informed that 129 people have applied for relief in the current fiscal year. During this period, 1 person has died due to a tiger attack.

Palpa farmers have been suffering from monkeys for the last 10 years. Krishna Prasad Pandey, a farmer from Ribdikot, says that the efforts made by the farmers themselves have not been fruitful when the monkeys that come all year round destroy the crops they grow.

All 10 local levels of Palpa mention policies and programs for wildlife control every year, but they do not allocate budget. Mukti Aryal, a farmer from Rampur, said that monkeys have ruled the village since people moved to the city. Ribdikot Rural Municipality 1 had deployed 9 watchmen in the ward last year. They have planned to deploy them this year as well. Information Officer Khil Bahadur Tamang of the Division Forest Office, Palpa, informed that there is a plan to install barbed wire in an area of ​​160 meters this year. He suggests that emphasis should be placed on farming of amriso, timur, and tejpat to reduce human-wildlife conflict.

Farmers in Baglung have even cut down dill trees in their fields to protect their crops from monkeys. Locals of wards 12, 13 and 14 of Baglung Municipality have cut down trees to protect themselves from monkeys, said Chandra Bahadur KC, a local of Baglung-13, Baglung. The locals have cut down the trees themselves after the monkeys started living in trees around their homes and fields and destroying crops and even harassing people.

Narayan Prasad Poudel, ward chairman of Baglung Municipality-13, said that the migration rate is increasing every year in most areas of the southern region of Baglung due to the suffering of monkeys.