Swarms of crop-destroying desert locusts have reached Gurugram, right next to national capital Delhi. Multiple videos shot by residents of Gurugram city and villages in the district this morning show massive clusters of locusts flying in.
Thousands of locusts were seen covering the sky near the Cyber Hub area of Gurugram.
The migratory pests are likely to spare the national capital Delhi for now, officials told news agency PTI. The dark cloud of locusts spread across two kilometres crossed the suburban city, touching the Delhi-Gurugram border, but did not enter Delhi.
Gurugram residents were last evening asked to keep their windows shut as precaution against a locust attack by the city administration as a swarm was sighted in an adjoining district.
The administration has asked residents to make clanging noises by beating utensils to ward the insects off.
“The swarm of locusts started around 11:00am. We immediately closed the windows and doors, and the society administration started bellowing hooters installed on buildings to drive away the insects,” says Rita Sharma, a resident of Beverly Park 2 at MG Road in Gurugram
.
“Farmers must also keep their pumps (for insecticide spray) ready so that they can be used when needed,” the Gurugram administration had said.
The administration has asked employees of agriculture department to spread awareness on locusts in villages.
Massive swarms of desert locusts have been destroying crops in many parts of western and central India, spearing into Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab now, after Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana.
The central government has set up 11 control rooms to coordinate the response.
Last month, Haryana Chief Secretary Keshni Anand Arora had directed the Agriculture department and district administrations to take all necessary precautions in advance to tackle any potential attack of locust swarms in the state.
Locusts form swarms in Africa and fly from Iran, Pakistan to India. They are known to have an enormous appetite. They eat plants and can wreck massive damage to crops in days if left unchecked.
Swarms of crop-destroying desert locusts have reached Gurugram, right next to national capital Delhi. Multiple videos shot by residents of Gurugram city and villages in the district this morning show massive clusters of locusts flying in.
Thousands of locusts were seen covering the sky near the Cyber Hub area of Gurugram.
The migratory pests are likely to spare the national capital Delhi for now, officials told news agency PTI. The dark cloud of locusts spread across two kilometres crossed the suburban city, touching the Delhi-Gurugram border, but did not enter Delhi.
Gurugram residents were last evening asked to keep their windows shut as precaution against a locust attack by the city administration as a swarm was sighted in an adjoining district.
The administration has asked residents to make clanging noises by beating utensils to ward the insects off.
“The swarm of locusts started around 11:00am. We immediately closed the windows and doors, and the society administration started bellowing hooters installed on buildings to drive away the insects,” says Rita Sharma, a resident of Beverly Park 2 at MG Road in Gurugram
.
“Farmers must also keep their pumps (for insecticide spray) ready so that they can be used when needed,” the Gurugram administration had said.
The administration has asked employees of agriculture department to spread awareness on locusts in villages.
Massive swarms of desert locusts have been destroying crops in many parts of western and central India, spearing into Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab now, after Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana.
The central government has set up 11 control rooms to coordinate the response.
Last month, Haryana Chief Secretary Keshni Anand Arora had directed the Agriculture department and district administrations to take all necessary precautions in advance to tackle any potential attack of locust swarms in the state.
Locusts form swarms in Africa and fly from Iran, Pakistan to India. They are known to have an enormous appetite. They eat plants and can wreck massive damage to crops in days if left unchecked.
