In a few days the summit of the Group of Twenty (G20) begins in New Delhi, the Indian capital. Heads of government of member countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Japan, Saudi Arabia, France and Germany are expected to attend alongside India. The Delhi authorities are sparing no effort to make the event grand, and began a huge programme of work weeks ago. Most of it looks routine, but some steps are unprecedented or novel, such as putting up Hanuman cutouts along roadsides and hiring people who can imitate a Hanuman's call.

The 18th G20 summit will be held on 9 and 10 September at the Bharat Mandapam convention centre at Pragati Maidan in Delhi.

Indian media outlet NDTV reported that the Delhi government has planted 6,75,000 flowers and plants with colourful leaves to beautify the city ahead of the summit. Various flowering plants and colourful pots have been placed on roads, roundabouts, the venue, hotels and areas linked with the G20. A 115-foot Indian national flag has also been installed at the Rajghat memorial complex.

Large numbers of monkeys roam freely in various parts of Delhi, and their population keeps growing. Several recent reports of monkey attacks and bites have worried the Delhi government, which is determined to keep monkey trouble under control during the summit.

A local government official told news agency PTI that all important sites, including the main venue, Bharat Mandapam at Pragati Maidan, and the hotels where foreign guests will stay, are being covered so that troops of monkeys cannot enter during the event.

NDMC vice-chairman Satish Upadhyay said the authorities will deploy 30 to 40 trained people who can imitate the sound of a Hanuman to scare monkeys away.

"These trained people have been hired to frighten monkeys by imitating the sound of a Hanuman. They are very effective. We will deploy one of them at every hotel, and they will also be sent wherever monkeys are reported," he said.

PTI reported that more than a dozen Hanuman cutouts have been installed in areas with many monkeys, including Sardar Patel Marg.

Even so, an official said, troops of monkeys have damaged a number of plants and flowers.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.