Administration on alert after locust swarms reach Gurugram, outside of Delhi

The desert locusts, which have been wreaking havoc in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Hrayana and some parts of Maharashtra, were seen in Gurgaon's Cyber Hub area of Gurugram and Delhi's Chhatrapur area.

Swarms of Desert Locust have moved in three groups from Jhunjhunu in Rajasthan towards Gurugram and Palwal in Haryana and from there towards Uttar Pradesh, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare of Delhi said here on Saturday.

''Locust swarm was noticed in Jhunjhunu (Rajasthan) on the morning of June 26and control teams were deployed to eliminate the locusts. The leftover locusts regrouped and reached Rewari in Haryana yesterday evening, where control operations were undertaken till early this morning,'' the Ministry said in a statement.

The leftover locusts again regrouped and the swarm divided into three groups, one of which moved towards Gurugram, and from there to Faridabad and onwards to Uttar Pradesh.

Another locust swarm moved towards Dwarka in Delhi, from there to Daulatabad, Gurugram, Faridabad and this swarm has also entered UP.

The third group was seen in Palwal (Haryana) and has also moved towards UP. As of now, no locust swarms were spotted in any city areas.

The Haryana government has issued a high alert after locusts entered Rewari and Gurugram districts, media reports said.

Meanwhile, news agency ANI reported that the Delhi Air Traffic Control has asked the pilots of all airlines to exercise all necessary precaution while landing and take off as locusts were reported near Gurugram-Dwarka Expressway.

Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai also held an emergency meeting and directed officials to ensure preparedness after locusts were reported in Gurgram which is adjacent to the national capital.

Locusts were heading towards Palwal (in Haryana) but small clusters were reported Jasola and Bhati (at Delhi border), the minister said, reported media.

Reports said the District Magistrates of South, West and South West districts in Delhi have been asked to be on high alert. Administration of Noida in Uttar Pradesh have also been asked to maintain vigil.

Gurugram city administration has asked the residents to keep their doors and windows closed as a prevention against a possible locust attack.

Residents have been asked to make clanging sounds if locusts swarms are cited to ward them off.

Gurugram administration has also asked farmers to keep their pumps ready for insecticide spray.

According to information given by the Ministry of Agriculture of Delhi, all the groups of locust swarms were being tracked by teams of the State Agriculture Departments of Rajasthan, Haryana and UP, local administrations and officials of the Central Locust Warning Organisation, and control operations were underway.

More control teams from Rajasthan have been moved to Haryana and UP to help in locust control operations being carried out in these two states.

The locusts keep flying during day time and settle down only after dark in the evening.

Ground control teams are constantly tracking them and will undertake major control operations, once they settle down. Control teams in UP have been alerted, the ministry added.