Relocate

I read in yesterday’s newspaper that monkey menace is on the rise in Bangalore city. Stray dog problems are the ones I used to hear, now from monkeys.  These are bonnet macaques primarily found in south India. Though they normally live in jungles on trees, they are attracted more towards urban areas as food is abundant. Experts say that trans-location is not practical approach as they may spread disease to wild life if they are moved to forests. If they are shunted to rural areas, the problem will remain, this time villagers have to bear the brunt of it. So the authorities are planning to extend ABC (animal birth control) programme to monkeys also, which would be economical and practical. Good or bad, the news is that their population is on the decline in Bangalore and they may disappear in a decade. I presume it is mainly because of increased intolerance by us, definitely not because of lack of food. (In fact it is mentioned in the news that 2 monkeys were shot dead by residents a few days ago).

I have to believe that is the case, I used to see monkeys in my area quite a few years back. Not anymore, not a single one I can spot now. In one occasion, a monkey picked up a bundle of currency notes from bag belonging to one of our employees. It happily went and sat on the roof holding the bundle. People started shouting, jumping up and down exactly as it does, throwing stones at it (since they didn’t have similar bundles of notes to throw at it as cap seller did many years back! ). We were scared that it would tear the notes into pieces and shower them on to us. Luckily, it didn’t happen. After a while, it dropped the bundle and ran off. Barring pilfering bananas, other food items or fancy items I never heard them attacking humans, like stray dogs do. I am not sure why they had to be shot dead, maybe I am undermining the problems the residents have faced.

Why all this monkey business today?

I do see a strong similarity between this and people migrating to Bangalore city. According to provisional census 2011 data, Bangalore's population has grown by 46.68 per cent between 2001 and 2011, up by nearly 12 percentage points over the growth rate of 35 per cent in the previous decade. Bangalore’s growth rate is the highest among all the metros in the country. Over a third of Karnataka’s population increase in the last decade has happened in Bangalore. Primarily because of job opportunities. Unlike in monkeys’ case, there is no way the population can come down. It will only explode further in coming years. Many cities in India are no different, may be many of them don't have monkeys there.

Once cities grow at this exponential rate, there will always be need for more development or modernization within city itself, people may have to relocate. I know in one locality near where I live, people who have been living there for 25 years were asked to vacate their houses, to make way for public private partnership that aims at constructing a shopping mall and a housing complex. It is in the news for many years now, residents are unwilling to relocate, even if temporarily, though they are promised a housing colony next to this project. They, most of them daily labourers, have been opposing the relocation to 10 Kms away from where they live, as there will not be any job opportunities there, their children have to discontinue their studies, they are unsure of the time when they will get their new houses. I will not be the right person to comment on who is right or wrong, my knowledge is limited to what I saw in newspapers, but the fact is that many are going through hard times, project is getting delayed.

People who are well settled here for many years, it is difficult to relocate to some other place once they think of their jobs, friends circle, childrens’ education, non-sultry weather, by-two coffee etc. But the rate at which this city is getting choked, they have to think of relocation seriously not because of intolerance by others, not because of fear of somebody shooting them down, definitely not because of prospect of a full fledged compulsory HBC (Human Birth Control) programme getting launched. Water shortage, pollution, traffic, high cost of living - all these point them towards that direction. Unless city expands by no bounds in a short span of time. Past track record does not make anyone optimistic about that.