Authorities in India’s capital, Delhi, are taking steps to scare away monkeys from venues linked to the G20 summit.

There have been life-size cut-outs of gray langur monkeys – which scare smaller monkeys – placed across the country and there are plans to deploy people who can mimic the animal’s sounds.

Authorities hope these steps will prevent monkeys from disrupting the summit in Delhi, which has a large monkey population.

September 9 and 10 will be the dates for the meeting of G20 leaders in India.

A langur is an aggressive monkey with a long tail and a dark face. Typically, they are controlled on leads by specially trained handlers, who release them when other monkeys are spotted.

According to PTI news agency, langur cut-outs are being placed in heavily monkey-infested areas.

As part of the conference, Satish Upadhyay said 30-40 trained people will mimic langur sounds at hotels where delegates are staying, as well as at places where monkey sightings have been reported.

Aiming to discourage monkeys from lingering in search of food, authorities are also providing monkeys with food at designated sites.

It has been attempted in the past – including during the 2010 Commonwealth Games – to scare away monkeys using real langurs or people who can mimic them.

A total of 40 professional langur impersonators were hired by authorities to scare monkeys away from the parliament and other government buildings in 2014.

Animal rights activists argued that holding monkeys captive amounted to cruelty, and parliament authorities ceased using real langurs in the same way.