Delhi World Championships venue uses gel and langur calls to deter pests

Three men mimicking langur calls are part of preparations at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium, where the BWF World Championships began on Monday.

Organisers also carried out deep cleaning and applied anti-pest gel along roof beams to deter pigeons. The measures follow disruptions at January’s India Open, when pigeon droppings interrupted play and a monkey entered the venue.

Zafar, one of the men hired for the work, said rhesus monkeys flee when they hear langur warning calls. “We replicate the warning call of a langur and that has the monkeys run away,” he said.

Mixed-doubles player Tanisha Crasto said players had noticed the absence of birds and monkeys. Her partner Dhruv Kapila said the change from January was evident. Unnati Hooda, 18 and making her World Championships debut, said players had been taking pictures inside the arena.