Assam: Monkey menace threatens homes, farms and safety in Golaghat district

A CORRESPONDENT

BOKAKHAT: Residents of Bordihingia village in Komargao, along with several other areas of Golaghat district, are living in fear due to the increasing menace caused by wild monkeys.

At present, the unprecedented disturbance and terror created by large groups of monkeys have severely disrupted normal life in the region. The property, livelihoods, and safety of the villagers are under serious threat.

Most rural houses in Assam are traditionally built with tin-sheet roofs. Now, when groups of one to two hundred monkeys jump onto these roofs, the tin sheets become badly bent, cracked, and damaged, while the wooden and bamboo structures beneath also break apart. As a result, even light rainfall causes water to pour directly into homes. Poor families, who built these houses through great hardship as their life’s only asset, are watching them being destroyed before their eyes. Replacing the damaged tin sheets every year has become impossible for ordinary villagers.

Although the residents of Bordihingia village possess enough land for farming, the fear of monkey attacks has made it impossible for them to grow even basic vegetables in their own gardens. Potatoes, cabbage, brinjal, chillies, or any other crops they attempt to cultivate are destroyed within moments by monkey troops. Not only vegetables, but also income-generating crops such as betel nut, betel leaf, banana, jackfruit, and mango are ruined while still unripe or partially eaten. Despite owning farmland, villagers are forced to buy vegetables from markets at high prices, which has become one of their greatest misfortunes and has crippled the rural economy.

The monkeys have now become so aggressive and violent that they no longer fear humans. If anyone tries to chase them away alone, instead of retreating, the monkeys bare their teeth and chase people in an attempt to bite them. Most concerning is that the monkeys mainly target small children and women who are alone. Parents cannot leave their children unattended in courtyards even briefly, creating a constant atmosphere of fear. School and college students also travel under anxiety every day, fearing attacks at any moment.

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