Bengaluru: Hanuman Jayanthi celebrations at Sri Anjaneyaswamy Devalaya Temple Trust in Vyalikaval is a grand event. The temple will be feeding monkeys from the nearby forest. The temple is collecting food items from the devotees to feed the monkeys.
The forest officials and the conservationists feel that this gesture would increase the monkey menace in the region.
As reported by DH, Trust President, Ramakrishna M said that people see the deity in the animal, and this is just a way of feeding Lord Hanuman himself. The trust collects offerings from devotees during the festive season and feeds it to the monkeys. “We have started collecting from Thursday (December 20) and will continue collecting till Saturday (December 22). Whatever people offer and donate to the trust is fed to the monkeys,” he said.
This year the trust is feeding the monkeys in Kannime, Chikkaballapur, an area bordering the forest. The Trust members added that they have been feeding the macaques for the last 20 years. The trust collects fruits, vegetables, bread, biscuits, groundnut, banana and even curd to feed the monkeys.
Chikkaballapur forest department officials, meanwhile, said that they were unaware of the initiative. “No permission has been given to feed the animals, besides, it is also an offence. The matter will be looked into,” Sridhar, assistant conservator of forests, Chikkaballapur said.