It is not only human but animals too are facing the brunt of lockdown as hundreds of starving macaque monkeys, who are denied food because of absence of tourists and Ram Bhakts, have started attacking residents in the temple town of Ayodhya.
The Ayodhya police are now busy listening to the woes of people as monkeys have started stealing food and mobile phones from the residential areas near the prominent temples of Ayodhya. Also, they are breaking into homes, frightening the inmates and biting them.
Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Ayodhya Dr Anil Kumar said hospital is getting at least 40 patients of monkey attack daily. “Majority of the patients are children and women. Some of them carry scratch marks while some have bite marks as well,” he said.
Dr Kumar said in today’s world where people are scared of corona virus, a small monkey scratch is creating a scare because it is believed that human-monkey interaction is the higher risk of disease transmission between the two species.
In Ayodhya — Ram ki Nagari — monkey are revered as part of Hanuman ki sena. Pilgrims coming from different parts of the country used to feed them with bananas and other fruits. The monkeys too were used to human presence.
With Ayodhya being locked down due to coronavirus no pilgrim is allowed to enter the city and restaurants are closed too. The local residents are too not allowed to visit any temple as all of them, including the Hanumangarhi and Ram mandir — where Ram Lalla was shifted on March 25 — have been closed for public.
With no option left, the starving monkeys have started invading residential areas.
Dr Kumar said monkeys are turning violent due to lockdown as they are not getting food leading to such change in their behaviour.
There are no vehicles on the roads and therefore these monkeys are using the empty roads as their play grounds. And if any commuter passes by they attack them.
The local administration has asked the local ashrams and temples to give food to these starving monkeys but as the temples are closed the monkeys are looking for other options.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has asked the NGOs and the Horticulture Department to take care of stray animals, including cow, dogs and monkeys.
Meanwhile, in Sambhal, 19 monkeys have died in the past eight days in the Panwasa village because of starvation.
Officials of the Animal Husbandry and the Forest Department have sent the carcass of a dead monkey to Bareilly for a post-mortem.
Local said in the last eight days monkeys suddenly get ill and then die within 24-48 hours in Panwasa village.
