Officials and personnel of the Fire and Emergency Services and Forest Departments, who have been trying since Friday to rescue monkeys that had taken shelter on trees submerged by overflowing Tungabhadra river near Rajanahalli in Harihar taluk of Davanagere district, had something to cheer about by Saturday evening. Five monkeys moved to safety using the rope ladder tied to the tree on the river bank.
District Fire Officer for Davangere district Basava Prabhu Sharma, who has been overseeing the rescue operation, told The Hindu that using the roper ladder, five monkeys managed to come to the river bank. However, as the rope ladder started tilting, the others returned to the tree. He said the team had sent bananas and groundnuts in a rescue boat to the monkeys. He added that as the rope ladder was tilting, they took steps to stabilise it. Roughly around 50 monkeys have taken shelter on the branches of the submerged trees.
