30 monkeys drown in drinking water tank in Telangana

At least 30 monkeys were found to have drowned in a  drinking water tank in a town in Telangana’s Nalgonda district earlier this week. The incident came to light when residents who had begun experiencing a terrible stench in the area alerted the municipal authorities. A search revealed the carcasses of the animals in the tank.

According to the police, the tank is located in ward 1 of Nandikonda Municipality. An initial investigation suggested the deaths took place because the water tank was left uncovered. The wandering monkeys may have been trapped inside when they either fell in accidentally, or entered the tank to drink water and found they couldn’t escape.

According to some sources, municipal workers had previously placed metal sheets on top of the tank. Some parched monkeys might have entered the tank with the help of those very sheets to drink water.

With summer setting in and temperatures soaring, it should come as no surprise if the monkeys, seeing an open water source, decided to enter to slake their thirst. It is not only human beings who are suffering from thirst and exhaustion. The situation is likely to get worse, with the India Meteorological Department forecasting more heat-wave days than usual in April, May and June.

According to a report in TheNewsMinute.com, quoting the Indo-Asian News Service, this tank was the main one out of four that supply water to about 50 households. This was confirmed by the Nalgonda district collector. Residents are now worried as they had been drinking and using that water for at least three days before the dead monkeys were found.

Given that such incidents may only grow in the next two months, it may be in the interests of humans to make sure pitchers, buckets and mugs of water are kept in accessible places to ensure birds and animals do not get so thirsty as to have to risk their lives, and by implication those of humans, by trying to reach water in tanks meant for people.

Image credit: @NAR_Handle