Anakapalli: Monkey menace in several villages of Anakapalli, hamlets that are close to Alluri Sitarama Raju district in particular, has become a serious cause for concern.

The tailed-animals have been attacking children in the region and causing severe crop loss to the farmers as they feast on fruits and vegetables grown by them.

The magnitude of the monkey menace has become quite serious in the district, so much so that Anakapalli District Collector Vijaya Krishnan brought the issue to the notice of Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu during the two-day Collectors’ conference.

With farmers facing severe crop loss and children being attacked repeatedly, the District Collector appealed to the Chief Minister to look into the issue and laid emphasis on considering a concrete action to address it.

Responding to the issue, the Chief Minister directed the forest department officials to look into it and consider serious action at the earliest. Recently, a couple of students from the social welfare hostel in Ravikamatham mandal were bitten by monkeys. Their parents flagged serious concerns to the authorities and staged a protest expressing worry about sending their wards to the hostel. Concerned over their wards’ safety, the parents are now picking up their wards from the hostel on Sundays.

In the meantime, parents and tribal welfare association representatives raised a complaint with the authorities concerned and urged them to protect them from monkey attacks that continue to haunt them.

For quite a long time, fear and anxiety grip residents of several villages in Anakapalli district as troops of monkeys continue to attack them.

However, with District Collector Vijaya Krishnan broaching the serious issue with the Chief Minister in the Collectors’ conference, villagers keep their fingers crossed, hoping for some respite in near future.