monkeys, snakes disrupting Commonwealth Games

[Easy Mac]

Fierce langur monkeys and snake charmers have been deployed at several Commonwealth Games venues across New Delhi to try to protect athletes and delegates from simian and reptile attack.

Delhi's municipal authorities, long battling the city's unending monkey menace, have dragooned an army of 40 grey langurs, to scare off hordes of mischievous and belligerent rhesus monkeys.

A band of snake charmers, armed with sonorous pipes, have been stationed at the athletes' Games village in an area heavily inhabited by snakes.

The reptiles, many of them highly poisonous, have been on the move after their ground holes were filled with water during heavy monsoon rains over the past two months.

Two snakes surfaced at the weekend, spreading panic among athletes - one in the quarters of the South African contingent at the Games village and a 1m-long cobra at the tennis stadium.

But more than snakes, marauding monkeys are menacing the main swimming Talkatora Stadium and the Shvaji Stadium, a practice venue for hockey.


Environmentalists said many trees around these stadiums have been felled, forcing the already highly urbanised monkeys to roam further into built up areas, harassing, scaring and even biting people - especially women and children.

Delhi's monkey population, while a menace, is protected by residents. Many people feed the monkeys believing it will bring them favour with Hindu gods.

Anyone trying to trap or scare off monkeys is frequently beaten up or chased away, and killing them is out of the question - anyone trying to do so would be lynched.

Novel methods of chasing them away with ultra-high-frequency loudspeakers, scaring them by employing langurs, deporting them to neighbouring states or transporting them to India's only monkey jail in Patiala, 350km north of Delhi, have also failed.

For nearly four decades monkeys have held sway in New Delhi's corridors of power and spread mayhem across the campus of the nearby All India Institute of Medical Sciences, India's flagship research institution.

Powerful policymakers walk warily down passageways in North and South Blocks that house among others the Prime Minister's office and the Defence and Home Ministries, for fear of being set upon by monkeys, concealed in niches in the sandstone buildings built by the Colonial administration.

Tough wire mesh stretches across the windows of the Indian Army chief's office to protect the head of the world's third-largest and nuclear-armed military from monkeys.

The monkeys made their presence felt during a news conference with former United States Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld near the Army chief's office some years ago by hanging from window ledges and screeching at the gathering below.

Snakes, marauding monkeys menace Games - Sport - NZ Herald News

[Easy Mac]

they need to teach the monkeys to eat the snakes, then just wait for them to freeze to death over the winter.

[whomario]

has nobody told them that it´s 2010 ? Commonwealth games, really ?

How about some German Empire Games featuring Germany, Austria, Poland and Namibia among others ?

On a more serious note, New Delhi is one fucked up City in many places ...


another nice quote from an AFP article :

"We believe tourism will not suffer much, since tourists who visit India have mostly factored in the India of yore, with snake charmers, and its dirt," said Robinder Sachdev, president of Indian image consultancy Imagindia.

way to sell it

[Coffee Warlord]

Originally Posted by whomario

How about some German Empire Games featuring Germany, Austria, Poland and Namibia among others ?

Austria-Hungary, thank you very much.

[Marc Vaughan]

Originally Posted by whomario

has nobody told them that it´s 2010 ? Commonwealth games, really ?

I agree totally ... it'd be like a country having a 'world series' these days and then forgetting to invite other countries to it?

Somethings are just 'the way they are' because of historic reasons ... if it doesn't hurt anyone go with the flow

[Crapshoot]

We are a crazy frigging country. Typical Indian style.

[Passacaglia]

Originally Posted by Coffee Warlord

Austria-Hungary, thank you very much.

I don't think Austria-Hungary was ever part of the German empire.

[cthomer5000]

Originally Posted by Easy Mac

they need to teach the monkeys to eat the snakes, then just wait for them to freeze to death over the winter.

QUIMBY
For decimating our pigeon population, and making Springfield a less oppressive place to while away our worthless lives, I present you with this scented candle.

Skinner talks to Lisa.

SKINNER
Well, I was wrong. The lizards are a godsend.

LISA
But isn't that a bit short-sighted? What happens when we're overrun by lizards?

SKINNER
No problem. We simply unleash wave after wave of Chinese needle snakes. They'll wipe out the lizards.

LISA
But aren't the snakes even worse?

SKINNER
Yes, but we're prepared for that. We've lined up a fabulous type of gorilla that thrives on snake meat.

LISA
But then we're stuck with gorillas!

SKINNER
No, that's the beautiful part. When wintertime rolls around, the gorillas simply freeze to death.

[flere-imsaho]

One metre long cobra?

Well, that's it - I won't be sleeping tonight.

[BishopMVP]

Throw in a politically/religiously sensitive Supreme Court ruling over Ayodhya too and it sounds like great fun this coming week - India braced for violence ahead of Muslim v Hindu Ayodhya verdict - Telegraph

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by flere-imsaho

One metre long cobra?

Well, that's it - I won't be sleeping tonight.

Then you probably don't want to read about the 50-foot python captured in Indonesia, and you really don't want to watch the video of it. For those who do though... (and I recommend against it )

[flere-imsaho]

I now hate you with the fire of one thousand burning suns.