Jaipur, Feb 2: Union Minister Maneka Gandhi has said that the Himachal Pradesh government should plant fruit trees in forests to prevent monkeys from straying into urban areas in search of food.
Speaking at the All India Regional Editors Conference here, the Union Minister for Women and Child Development said though the number of monkeys in Himachal Pradesh has come down but still there was a problem because the monkeys do not get food in forests due to lack of fruit trees and strays into human habitats.
“Fruit trees were removed from forest areas in Himachal after an officer wrote to the Forest department. That time, it was not felt that the issue of monkeys would arise and now it is there.
“Since there are no trees of fruit so monkeys stray into urban areas in search of food,” she said, while suggesting for a campaign to plant fruit trees in forests to address the problem.
The Union Minister also criticised the Himachal Pradesh government for its monkey sterilization programme saying it was not the solution.
Himachal Pradesh is facing the conflict between monkeys and human and damage to crops by monkeys.
