Rescue team feeds bananas to monkeys stranded on trees amid floods

Latur, Sep 25 (PTI) Rescue workers in Maharashtra’s Latur district on Thursday came to the aid of a troop of monkeys that had been stranded on trees in a flooded area.

Cut off by the rising waters of the Manjra river in the Nilanga tehsil, the starving monkeys, including four young ones, were given bananas by the rescue team.

Heavy rains over the past few days have caused rivers in Latur district to overflow, prompting the authorities to open dam gates.

While crops along riverbanks have been submerged, several trees at Chinchodi village were encircled by floodwaters, leaving eight to ten monkeys trapped without food.

After being alerted by local residents, the district administration sent a rescue team with a boat. The monkeys, initially startled by human presence, refused to get into the boat.

The rescuers then tied bunches of bananas to the trees. As soon as the team withdrew, the hungry monkeys gorged on the fruit, an official said.

Heavy rains and swollen rivers have caused large-scale damage in Marathwada since September 20, claiming at least nine lives. Crops on more than 30,000 hectares were washed away due to the floods, as per the state government. PTI COR NR