Langur callers hired to keep monkeys out of badminton Worlds

The Story in Brief

Three men trained to imitate langur calls have been hired for the BWF World Championships at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, beginning August 17. The measures aim to prevent a repeat of the India Open in January, where a rhesus macaque wandered into the stands and pigeon droppings forced play to stop. The Badminton Association of India and the Sports Authority of India have spent Rs 20 crore on a wider overhaul: double-door entry systems, sealed vents, anti-pest gel on roof ducts, and imported machines that emit predatory bird noises. Fifty-seven of the stadium’s 66 toilets have been renovated, 2,500 seats refurbished, and overhead lighting upgraded. Ayush Shetty, who will make his World Championships debut, expressed confidence that the venue is now in much better shape.

Langurs are much larger than rhesus macaques, and the hired callers, who have worked at Delhi’s South and North Block, claim their grunts and hoots reliably scare the monkeys away. A separate four-man team led by a Delhi native named Jabbar has also been employed. The anti-pigeon gel is made from castor oil and causes birds to slip if they try to perch. Organisers said the machines, imported from the US, cannot be used for long periods because pigeons become accustomed, but they have worked in tests over the past 15, 20 days.