Jaipur, after three decades, had a date with locusts who came in lakhs of numbers to the residential parts of the city, traumatising the residents, who were already reeling under corona fear during lockdown times.
Travelling for hundreds of kilometre in a day, these locusts arrived in India through Iran and Pakistan. People rushed up on their roof tops and started playing vessels to evade these unwanted guests.
Many people were also seen bursting crackers to ensure these insects leave their place.
The gardens of the people were ravaged by the flying locusts who savoured the leaves on plants.
Besides Jaipur, the locusts also marked their presence in other parts of Rajasthan including Ajmer and Nagaur.
They were also seen in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. In fact, Delhi kept waking up next day as officials warned of locust attack, however, the wind and storm ensured safety for capital of India.
Luckily, the rabi crops were recently harvested and hence survived the onslaught.
However, the locusts destroy India’s kharif produce if they are not been controlled by the time the harvesting season arrives.
Meanwhile, the features of these desert locusts are quite different. They can fly for over 130 km in a day. Also they can stay in the air for a long time. Also female locusts can lay eggs around thrice in their lifetime (roughly three to five months), at 6-11 day interval period. Their populations have the capacity to multiply 20-fold in just three months.
Now, imagine, the devastation they can bring in if not been controlled. Farmers will have to pay a heavy price as they have already suffered the worst under lockdown period which has been imposed during COVID-19 time.
So let’s see how these flying attackers can be controlled. Any solutions?