Large swarms of locusts reach Gurugram, no damage reported

Gurugram: Large swarms of desert locusts reached Gurugram Saturday morning and passed over several areas, catching residents unaware. Many locals posted videos of

Gurugram: Large swarms of desert locusts reached Gurugram Saturday morning and passed over several areas, catching residents unaware. Many locals posted videos of the hoppers flying across city skies on social media, even as they banged utensils and played music to shoo them away. Residents also warned others across the city and called for staying indoors.

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According to district agriculture officials, the swarm was five km wide and eight km long and before entering Gurugram from Pataudi side, it divided in four groups, and two of these entered Sector 4 and 5 and another toward Kherki Daula. They also entered but Delhi but due to wind direction, they moved towards Nuh and Faridabad, said officials.

The swarms were spotted in Rajendra Park, Sector 5, MG road, Nathupur, DLF phases 2 and 3, among some other areas of the city.

Residents said that crows, sparrows and pigeons could be seen flying away in large numbers from areas where the swarms were witnessed.

The Gurugram administration, meanwhile, said that despite the attack, no damage was reported to crops in the districts even as the agriculture department kept a watch on developments. The swarms had entered Rewari district through Mahendergarh on Friday and as soon as this information was received, the district administration started preparations, a spokesperson of the administration said.

“An awareness campaign regarding this issue was carried out in rural areas and an advisory was issued to city residents about precautions to be taken and measures to adopt, to ensure the locusts stay away. We asked residents to keep doors and windows closed and clang utensils and create noise to keep them away,” said the spokesperson.

Atma Ram Godara, deputy director, agriculture, said 200 tractor trolleys with spray pumps were arranged and insecticides were distributed in rural areas to start spraying in case the locusts settle in the city or farm areas. “In rural areas like Pataudi and Farrukhnagar, even vehicles of the fire department were deployed to spray chemicals and ensure that the locusts are killed,” he said, adding that 45 officials of the agriculture department kept a strict watch on the situation.

The city residents, meanwhile, said they got scared by the huge swarm of locusts that darkened the sky for some time, and forced them to stay indoors.

Dinesh Vashisht, president of the RWA of sectors 4, 5 and 6, said that the swarm came from the Sector 4 side and hovered over their area for about 10 to 15 minutes. “As soon as it got there, a large number of people started clanging vessels to create noise which ensured that the locusts did not stop there but moved on. For a while, the entire sky went dark; it gave an eerie feeling to see these locusts,” he said.