From dawn to dusk, a group of villagers armed with sticks and crackers guard the orchards. In this season, when the (apple) crop is ready for harvesting, the attack of these marauders is on the rise.'

Himachal Forest Minister J.P. Nadda said the issue of monkey menace is a sensitive one.

'The issue of monkeys is a sensitive one. We are trying to get rid of them scientifically. Farmers in some of the areas are demanding mass killing of monkeys but we will not carry out killing keeping in view the religious sentiments of the people. Of course, we have allowed the farmers to carry out selective killing of monkeys but with the help of foresters.

'We are trying to contain the monkey nuisance by mass sterilisation and setting up more primate protection parks.'

The previous Congress government had initiated mass translocation of monkeys to remote forest areas from towns and villages to control the menace. This process was, however, not successful as the territory vacated by the translocated animals was occupied by more aggressive troops of monkeys from surrounding areas.

Kuldeep Singh Tanwar of the Kheti Bachao Sangharsh Samiti, an NGO working for the cause of farmers, said lifting the ban on export of monkeys is the only alternative to check their rising population.

'The export of monkeys for bio-medical research is a good option to reduce their numbers,' he said.

According to the economic survey (2008-09) of Himachal Pradesh, NREGA was implemented in the state from April 1, 2008. Under the scheme, 363,150 families have benefited already.

(Vishal Gulati can be contacted at vishal.g@ians.in)