Burhanpur (Madhya Pradesh): Nearly 55 monkeys stranded on a deserted tree— surrounded by water of Bhavsa dam in Burhanpur, since July, have been fighting a battle to survive. In absence of any food, they ate leaves. When there were no leaves left on the tree, they scratched the bark off the branches to beat the hunger. Soon, the monkeys fell off to death one-by-one and now it is November and only five of them survive…hoping help will arrive.
Notably, 55 monkeys, who were happily living on a tamarind tree located in the middle of the Bhavsa Dam, built at a cost of Rs 35 crore, got stuck on the tree due to the sudden filling of the dam in the month of July. They fought the battle of life by eating tree leaves.
According to Nai Dunia, now only five monkeys are left alive here, to whom the villagers are risking their lives to provide food.
Govinda and other people of the village said that they were not aware of this earlier. The villagers are blaming the Water Resources Department, which constructed the dam, and the Forest Department officers, for the death of the monkeys.
Forest department officials are talking about running a rescue operation for the remaining monkeys, but the reality is that their efforts appear to be nothing more than a mere palliative. The construction of Bhavsa Dam was completed this year. It is adjacent to the forest area. According to the rules, before filling the dam, the concerned department thoroughly checks whether there are any humans or wild animals there, but both the departments did not follow this formality. The consequences of which the silent wild animals had to pay by sacrificing their lives, Villagers said.
We had received information from the villagers about monkeys trapped in the dam. A boat was deployed to take them out but they did not come down from the tree. Efforts will be made again to save them, Said Vikram Singh Surya, Ranger, Bodarli.
Arun Singh Chauhan, Executive Engineer Water Resources Department said that the allegations the villagers are making are baseless. It rained suddenly and the dam was filled with water. This is a normal process.
