Locust attack: Delhi government issues advisory, asks south and west districts to remain on high alert

With swarms of locusts descending on neighbouring Gurugram, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Saturday asked the south, west and south-west districts administrations of the national capital to remain on high alert. In view of the possibility of a locust attack, the Delhi government gave the development commissioner, divisional commissioner and agriculture director instructions to take all necessary steps.

The Agriculture Department has issued a detailed advisory to all the district magistrates, three MCDs and NDMC to take immediate steps, said Gopal Rai. The Forest Department has been instructed to drive locusts away near Jasola Bhati by sprinkling medicines, playing DJs, beating drums and dhols. At the same time, there are instructions for spraying the chemical.

A large swarm of locusts is slowly moving towards Haryana's Palwal, but a small contingent has entered the border of Delhi towards Jasola Bhati.

The Delhi government is monitoring the entire situation. The wind direction is currently going towards the south. If there is a change in the wind direction, then perhaps their course may change.

"We will also be in touch with the Central government officials so that there is a change in the locust movement in Haryana, then we will be ready for it and take action in time," said Rai.

Earlier in the day, the skies over many parts of Gurgaon turned dark as swarms of locusts descended on the town. The swarms of locusts, spread across two kilometres, moved from west to east. They entered Gurgaon around 11.30 am, K L Gurjar of the Locust Warning Organisation, the Ministry of Agriculture, told PTI. The pests, he said, were headed towards Faridabad and Palwal in Haryana.

Alarmed at the invasion by locusts, which settled on trees, rooftops and plants, many residents of Gurugram shared videos from their high-rise perches.

In May, India battled a devastating desert locust outbreak. The crop-destroying swarms first attacked Rajasthan and then spread to Punjab, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. According to experts, broadly four species of locusts are found in India -- desert locust, migratory locust, Bombay locust and tree locust. The desert locust is considered the most destructive. It multiplies very rapidly and is capable of covering 150 kilometres in a day.

This insect, a type of grasshopper, can eat more than its body weight. One square kilometre of locust swarm containing around 40 million locusts can in a day eat as much food as 35,000 people. Experts blame the growing menace of desert locusts on climate change. They say breeding of locusts is directly related to soil moisture and food availability.