Delhi issues advisory as locust swarms enter capital

New Delhi: Local government in India’s capital Delhi Saturday issued an advisory on measures to contain and control the menace of desert locusts in its territory.

The advisory was issued as swarms entered neighbouring Gurugram in the morning and some of them in Delhi’s border districts in south and west.

Reports said in the afternoon the invading insects were seen attacking farms in Chhatarpur in south Delhi.

“In continuation to the advisory issued on 27-05-2020 on preventive measures to be taken to control and contain the outbreak of locusts, attention of all concerned is hereby drawn with reference to media reports about the movement, attack of swarm of locusts from Gurugram, Haryana to Delhi,” said the advisory.

Swarm threat

The advisory issued by Delhi’s agriculture department has asked deputy commissioners to co-ordinate with district fire department personnel to make arrangements for spraying insecticide and pesticide.

The district magistrates were also advised to deploy adequate staff to make all possible arrangements for guiding villagers and residents to distract the locusts by making high decibel sounds through beating of drums and utensils, besides playing high volume music, setting off firecrackers and burning of leaves.

The authorities also urged people to keep doors and windows closed, and cover plants with plastic sheets.

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.

“As the swarm of locusts flies in daytime, and rests during the night, it should not be allowed to rest at night,” said the advisory issued by Development Commissioner of Delhi. “Concerned authorities may carry out spraying of insecticide, pesticide as per need during the night.”

Swarms of locusts, which first attacked Rajasthan, have now spread to Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. During the morning the swarms of desert locusts were seen moving in clusters in Gurugram. 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.