Video Editor: Vishal Kumar
The viscera of the 100 monkeys found dead over the past few days in Amroha district have been dispatched to the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI) in Bareilly and a medical report is awaited, an official said on Friday.
The deaths of the simians have triggered outrage among environmentalists after panicked villagers brought it to the local authorities’ notice.
Fifty monkeys died 3-4 days ago. Now, the number has increased to 150. The forest and health officials have taken action, but we could not get to know about the reason behind it. We are all scared that it might spread to humans too.Aditya Tyagi, Resident
While the villagers claim around 200 monkeys have died, officials say the figure is below 100. The villagers also claim that the state government took action only after locals brought it to their notice.
Scared that the disease might spread to humans, local residents are taking necessary precautions.
The health department called me and said there are chances of this disease spreading to humans. So we had a meeting with people and asked them to wash their hands before eating and take precautions and to keep their food covered and boil water. We buried them because we thought that otherwise flies will sit on their bodies and will then sit on our food which will spread the disease.Rajeev, Resident
A team of veterinary doctors has already conducted an autopsy on the dead monkeys but it has not been able to infer the cause of death conclusively, after which the viscera were sent to Bareilly, officials told IANS.
The district authorities have also initiated a police investigation after some residents raised doubts that the simians might have been poisoned by some locals whose crops were damaged by them.
The villagers in their interactions with the police have said that most of the monkeys passed blood-stained stool and vomited before they died. On an average, a dozen monkeys have died over the past one week.
Tejpal Singh, a doctor who conducted the post-mortem on the monkeys, has told officials that many organs, like the liver and the lungs of the animals, were badly damaged and their stomach was empty.
Some officials also said that the monkeys might have died due to dehydration.
(With inputs from IANS)
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