Guwahati: Armed forest guards with rifles now stand watch over children at a govt primary school in central Assam’s Nagaon district, after a monkey attacked five students earlier this week — leaving one girl with serious facial injuries and transforming the campus into a stark tableau of human-wildlife conflict.Attendance at Garubandha Lower Primary School in Nagaon district has fallen by more than half since Tuesday, when the attack left a young girl with wounds to her nose. The school’s six teachers, rather than devoting themselves to lessons, are forced to remain vigilant — chasing monkeys from the grounds while trying to protect frightened children.Hemanta Kumar Raut, an assistant teacher who has served at the school for a decade, said he had never witnessed monkeys attacking students before. Lately, however, he has noticed a new and alarming aggression among the animals — many of which, the staff believe, may have strayed from Kaziranga.“Earlier, we saw monkeys attacking people in Garubandha village or nearby Jakhalabandha town. This is a common sight at many households there,” Raut told TOI on Thursday. “But for the first time, such a scary scene has emerged, where monkeys are targeting students at schools.”On the day of the attack, Raut watched as the remaining children bolted from their classrooms in panic. Villagers immediately contacted forest department officials stationed at a nearby camp, and armed guards have since been deployed during school hours. Even so, barely fifty of the 125 enrolled children have attended classes over the past two days, as monkeys continue to loiter around the village.Under the latest arrangement, students have been gathered on the verandah and encircled by forest guards. This temporary measure offers little comfort to families already struggling financially and unable to contemplate moving their children to private schools.A forest department official said, “Since the arrival of the armed guards, monkeys have not approached the school during class hours, but a monkey attacked a boy in a nearby building.”The animal that injured the five children continues to roam near the campus.“Monkey menace continues. After classes end, the monkey comes back to the school as the forest staff leaves,” a teacher said.Villagers believe some of the animals may have descended from nearby hill ranges in search of food. Raut urged the govt to find a lasting solution.“We want the govt to find a solution to the monkey menace, as it was not seen at our school earlier,” he said, adding, “Maybe there are issues linked to their habitats and food.”
