There are more than 1.5 lakh monkeys in Uttarakhand and due to the destruction of crops by them, the Uttarakhand government has sought permission of the Union government to declare them vermin on the lines of Himachal Pradesh. The monkeys can be killed after being declared vermin. This was stated by the Forests and Wildlife minister, Harak Singh Rawat in the Uttarakhand Assembly on Thursday. The minster while responding to the question of the Devprayag MLA, Vinod Kandari on the damage caused by the monkeys especially in the mountainous areas said that the state at present has three rescue centres for monkeys at Chidyapur, Ranibagh and Almora. In these centres 7093 monkeys have so far been sterilised. He said that in accordance with the orders of the National Green Tribunal (NGT), the state government has decided to set up two large rescue centres at Chamoli and Almora. “These centres would be spread in about 200 hectare area which would give a natural feel to the monkeys,’’ he said. Raising a supplementary question, Ranikhet MLA, Karan Mahra sought to know about the medical check-up of the simians before they are released in deep forests. The minister said that the forest department has decided to create 27 posts of vets.
