2017.06.15 (Letter to the Editor): Three years ago I was shocked to see, on the green lawn of one of our “poshest” local hospitals, monkeys playing with bloody cotton and used syringes. All kinds of hazardous medical waste had been thrown in the grass on both sides of the walkway, or carelessly disposed of in a pile on the ground behind the hospital. I had walked down the sidewalk to make a phone call and instead found this scene.
I asked the doctor in charge about the situation at the time, but he did not really give me any satisfactory response.
I came back just one month ago to the same spot, and the situation is still the same. You can still see the cotton covered with blood and pus, syringes and other dirty scraps. And of course, our naughty friends the monkeys are still going there to play with the medical waste, and they even sometimes eat these things.
Monkeys playing with hazardous medical waste
Unfortunately this is not an isolated incident. I have heard that the waste disposal situation is the same at hospitals throughout Vrindavan.
We are talking about a very serious problem. Has any veterinarian ever checked the health situation of the monkeys? If you consider their sexual promiscuity, their tendency to bite, and their recent history of attacking humans, it seems very likely they could spread some serious diseases. It would not be difficult to imagine an epidemic in Vrindavan.
Though the co-discoverers of HIV don’t agree on its origins, most members of the scientific community believe the virus jumped from monkeys to humans some time during the 1930s. – Time Magazine
And if that happens, it will not be the fault of these poor monkeys. It will be our own fault. Because as human beings, it is our duty to look after the good of all living beings. We know the nature of the monkeys. So why do we let them live in a dangerous environment?
We humans are not even able to keep proper hygiene levels for our own sake, as you can see in the case of this hospital, or on any street in Vrindavan. I am in favor of the monkeys. I don’t want them to be blamed for our illnesses and killed. They need to live in a suitable environment with food and care, not in our dirty human cities. Shame on us humans, that we cannot even keep our Holy Dham of Vrindavan clean. Please, we need a change now.
Who knows when the government will start to prioritize waste management? But recently the court has taken interest in Vrindavan’s monkey situation.
My suggestion is that some of them be sterilized, to slow their reproduction rates. And a sanctuary should be created for them within Braj, where they will be fed and cared for, and where they can be safe from our inhuman habits.
Jai Sri Radhe
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