NEW DELHI/ CHANDIGARH: The locust attack in Gurugram and outer areas of the national capital on Saturday morning sent the authorities into tizzy. However, they heaved a sigh of relief as the swarm moved towards Uttar Pradesh.
The Delhi government sounded alert in two districts, south and west, as the locusts were spotted on the outskirts — Chhattarpur, Asola Bhati Mines and Dwarka. “A large group of locusts was heading towards Palwal in Haryana. However, a small segment entered Delhi’s Asola Bhati area on the border,” said Delhi’s environment minister Gopal Rai.
The Delhi Air Traffic Control asked pilots of all airlines to take necessary precautions during landing and take-off as the deadly pests were flying near the Gurugram-Dwarka Expressway. A team was set up to monitor the situation. However, airport authorities said the flight operations remained unaffected as locusts changed their course.
Rai hurriedly called a meeting of senior officials of agriculture, revenue and development departments and directed district magistrates to remain alert. Apart from using pesticides to prevent damage to crops and vegetation, the development commissioner's office asked districts' administration and residents to play high decibel music, beat drums, burn neem leaves and burst firecrackers to keep away the pests.
"They were small in number and have gone to UP as wind has changed its direction. Nothing can be predicted about their return as it is directly related to the direction of wind," said AP Saini, joint director, agriculture department of Delhi.
Rai said that an advisory has been issued to municipal corporations and others and the development commissioner has been told to be in touch with officials of the neighbouring states. “If the movement of insects changes, we will take necessary action,” he said.
In the morning, the locust swarms invaded Gurugram around 11.30 am. The clouds of pests covered large parts of the city including MG Road, IFFCO Chowk, Heritage City, Green Estate, Beverly Park, Palam Vihar, Maruti factory in Sector 18 and DLF Phase I-IV, besides Chakkarpur, Sikandarpur and Sukhrali villages among other places. The pests had started flying to Faridabad in the afternoon, and further to Pawal. From there, they moved towards Uttar Pradesh by evening.