Locust Attack Spreads To Eight States, 50,000 Hectares of Crop Destroyed

Locust attack has now become a big problem for people already facing the coronavirus pandemic.

After unleashing havoc in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana, locust swarms are causing severe damage to crops in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Odisha. According to an estimate, the swarms have so far devoured 50,000 hectares of crops.

Farmers who are troubled by stray animals are now guarding the fields to save their crops from locusts.

Many states have issued an alert regarding the locust attack and stepped up control operations to protect crops from locusts.

Another one #LocusAttack pic.twitter.com/DgU06aA8nN

— Santhanam (@santhanam_offl) May 27, 2020

A task force and a district-level war room have been formed in UP.

Scientists say locusts can be driven away by noise. So in many states, in a bid to ward locusts off fields, sound system, sirens, DJs, drums and thali are being used.

#WATCH Rajasthan: People bang utensils in order to scare away the swarm of desert locusts, a type of a species of short-horned grasshoppers, which flew across Dholpur district yesterday. pic.twitter.com/O8cFBfVdYk

— ANI (@ANI) May 28, 2020

The swarm of locusts is now coming out of the fields and also attacking the cities. One such attack has taken place in Jaipur.

Rajasthan: Agriculture Department used drones to monitor movement of the locusts in Jaipur's Samode yesterday. Dr Om Prakash Choudhary, Commissioner, Agricultural Department says, "We will use drones to monitor locusts in the terrains which are difficult for us to access". pic.twitter.com/cBtAAiEXBN

— ANI (@ANI) May 28, 2020

The locust menace has not occurred for the first time but for the last 27 years, it has grown into the biggest invasion in the current proportion.

Usually, a swarm of locusts can contain up to 15 crore grasshoppers and in a single day, a modest locust swarm can cover a distance of 100 to 150 km with the wind and can devour and destroy as much food as 35,000 people.

अब टिड्डी संकट pic.twitter.com/XWDmT67jKd

— अनुज गुर्जर (@supercrazyAj) May 27, 2020

Locusts typically have a lifespan of about three to five months and lay up to 500 eggs.