The New Delhi Municipal Corporation has hired 40 men to mimic the call of langurs, as a last resort to end the havoc rhesus monkeys wreak on Lutyen’s Delhi, the official enclave of the Indian Capital, which is home to stately buildings and bungalows of ministers, lawmakers, judges and generals.
When urban development minister Venkaiah Naidu said in the Parliament last week that his ministry was hiring men to disguise as langurs, it hit headlines internationally.
What the minister meant, it later turned out, was that men will be hired to mimic the cry of langurs. It is a desperate measure to scare away the monkeys. Use of captive langurs for this purpose was banned in recent months by the government, following protests from animal rights activists.
Now you can see how these government employees mimic the langurs, thanks to this video produced by the Wall Street Journal.
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The effectiveness of these mimics will be known the next time the problem comes up for discussion in the Parliament. Minister Naidu, doubtless, will closely monitor their progress.