Locust Swarm In India | India on the verge of Agricultural Crisis | Fresio Blogs

After destroying the farms and vegetations of Iran and Pakistan, Locust Swarm has taken over the western part of India and is now heading towards the Eastern part in search of more and more food. India, who is already dealing with rising numbers of COVID-19 cases, Economic Crisis, Super Cyclones, is now on the verge of having an Agricultural Crisis too. A massive Locust outbreak was witnessed in 16 districts of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat where they have invaded over 50,000 hectares of land, as per the state agricultural department. These Locust Swarm originated from East Africa and slowly made their way to India and Pakistan. These hibernating pests are now heading towards the farms in Eastern India which includes Bihar, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, and many more.  The Swarm of locusts has already attacked Katol in Maharashtra, Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh, and districts in Nagpur and are now heading towards Punjab. Mumbai is on Alert as a post shared on social media displayed a locust has entered Mumbai and may now cover the whole financial capital. Punjab is set on high alert for  infestation and the farmers have been asked to report any activity of the locusts. 

Image Source: www.indiatoday.in

How Harmful are Locusts?

Locusts belong to the grasshopper family and are believed to be harmless as no such cases of danger to humans have been recorded in decades. Locusts generally do not bite people or animals but can pinch you in order to defend themselves. These locusts have the tendency to reproduce faster during wet seasons like monsoons and cyclones. Although they do not attack humans directly, they have the tendency to break the spine a country by drowning it in the Agricultural Crisis. Locusts can eat as much as their body weight and a fully grown adult can weigh around 2 grams! Thinking this is too little to make any damage? Let me tell you, every square kilometre of these locusts has around 6 to 8 crores locusts in it and can cover more than 100 kms a day. Thereforre, if we go by numbers, they have the tendency to eat a good quantity of food that can be eaten by nearly 35000-40000 humans. 

What is the Government Doing?

The Indian Government has set up more than 200 Locust circle offices and temporary camps that will be looking after surveys and controlling Locust attacks.120 survey vehicles, 47 control vehicles with spray equipment, 810 tractors mounted sprayers and 89 fire brigades for pesticide spray have been deployed till now for controlling the locust attack in an effective way. States have been put on high alert and preventive measures are being taken up to prevent the spread to any extent possible.

Residents nearby shared pictures and videos of the Locust invasion on Monday where a large number of locust can be seen dominating the sky as well as the land.  State Agricultural Commissioner Dr. Om Prakash said," Since it is not an agricultural season, the vegetation is very less. So, the insects are moving towards other areas in search of food." 

Here are some videos on twitter that show the invasion of these locusts:

Locust Ataack in Jaipur 🤮 pic.twitter.com/QWHfOXasvf

— Akanksha🎨 (@art_lover_09) May 25, 2020

Locust attack in Jaipur...
That's it, 2020 is the last year for humankind...!!! pic.twitter.com/JsQxRANsA6

— Ridhi (@Not_A_Sister) May 25, 2020

Locust Swarms in Jaipur today

They will be hitting across Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and flying east. Very bad for farmers as they destroy the crops. pic.twitter.com/95QiLBu0D7

— Dr.Sunil Kumar Meena (@Drsunil0198) May 25, 2020

Agricultural Sector is the biggest portion of the Indian Economy, on which depends the livelihood of millions of farmers and shopkeepers. These are the people who'll be immensely affected by this invasion as these pests feed on large quantities of green vegetation which includes crops, pasture as well as fodder. Farmers are already facing a lot due to the COVID-19 Lockdown, and here comes another attack on their survival.