DHALLI (SHIMLA) — Every morning, a painful scene unfolds uphill from Dhalli. Children from the local State Home walk down to the School for Specially Abled Children. Many are completely blind. Others have physical disabilities.
They cannot see the danger ahead. They rely only on the sound of their walking canes and the voices of their teachers and their care takers. But lately, those quiet walks have turned into nightmares.
Aggressive monkeys drop from the trees, bare their teeth, and block the road. The children freeze in terror, unable to run, waiting until an adult can guide them past the snarling packs.
This crisis is man-made.
To clear monkeys from the Mall Road and central tourist spots, the Shimla Municipal Corporation and the Forest Department have been trapping them in the city. They release hundreds of them into the dense jungle of Hassan Valley.
The authorities thought the monkeys would stay in the forest. They do not.
Because these animals are used to human food, they leave the woods at dawn. They raid homes in Green Valley, gather near Hotel Woodrina, move toward HIPA, and swarm the very road these children walk.
This Vyavastha Parivartan has landed the state children into the government created life-threatening danger.
For residents, the fear is constant. Just days ago, a pack of five monkeys lunged at me without any provocation. I had to run for my life, and they chased me right to my front door.
A couple of years ago, my wife was badly bitten and had to get a full round of anti-rabies shots.
Now, even stepping out to throw the trash feels risky. Relatives and friends avoid visiting our homes because they are terrified of being attacked in the driveway.
The greatest risk, however, is to the children. A blind child cannot spot a charging animal. A child on crutches cannot flee. Mothers and caretakers are forced to use their own bodies as shields every single day.
Local residents are demanding immediate action from Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and the wildlife authorities:
Stop releasing monkeys into Hasan Valley: Relocating urban monkeys to city outskirts just shifts the danger to innocent people.
Build secure enclosures: Trapped monkeys must be kept in closed wildlife facilities, not released near human habitations.
Take decisive action: The administration must enforce strict population control and permit the culling of chronically aggressive animals.
The city must not sacrifice the safety of its most vulnerable state children, just to keep downtown streets clear.
