Swarms of crop-destroying locusts reach outskirts of Indian capital city

Swarms of crop-destroying desert locusts Saturday reached Gurugram, the outskirts of Indian capital city Delhi, locals said.

Witnesses said they watched the swarms moving in clusters in the sky outside their buildings.

Though Gurugram is a district in the adjacent state of Haryana, it forms part of Delhi’s national capital region.

Many people recorded the videos of the swarms from their apartments and posted them on social media.

The clusters of desert locusts were seen covering the skyline.

According to residents, the swarms entered from Jhajjar district.

Authorities in Gurugram on Friday evening asked residents to keep their windows shut as a precaution against a possible locust attack. It also asked residents to make clanging noise by beating utensils to ward off the insects.

The administration has also asked farmers to keep their pumps (for insecticide spray) ready so that they can be used when needed. The advisory was issued after swarms were sighted in the adjacent district.

Photo taken on May 25, 2020 shows swarms of locusts in the residential areas of Jaipur, the capital city of India’s western state of Rajasthan. (Str/Xinhua)

Houses and trees were covered by locusts in some parts of Gurugram as the swarms continue to advance. Officials said the swarm was likely to reach New Delhi also.

The locust attack has ravaged parts of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and a few other states for over a month.

Last month local government in Delhi issued an advisory on preventive measures to control a possible locust attack in its territory.

The advisory called for organising awareness programmes for public and farmers to prevent the probable attack of swarms of locusts in the national capital territory (NCT) of Delhi.

GlobalTimes

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