Locust clouds over Gurugram, likely to spare Delhi

12:30 June 27

Locusts wreak havoc in Palam Vihar's sector-5

In a video from sector-5 of Palam Vihar area in Gurugram, swarms of locusts can be seen wreaking havoc.

12:15 June 27

Man beats steel plate to ward off locust swarms from his farmland

Man beats a steel plate to ward off locust swarms hovering over his farmland in Gurugram

11:56 June 27

Swarms of desert locusts storm Gurugram-Dwarka Expressway

Gurugram/New Delhi: The skies over many parts of Gurugram turned dark on Saturday as swarms of locusts descended on the town, but the migratory pests are likely to spare the national capital for now, officials said.

The dark cloud of locusts, spread across two kilometres, crossed the suburban city, touched the Delhi-Gurugram border but did not enter Delhi.          

"The swarms moved from west to east. They entered Gurugram around 11.30 am," K L Gurjar of the Locust Warning Organisation, Ministry of Agriculture, told PTI.          

The pests, he said, were headed towards Palwal in Haryana.

Alarmed at the invasion of the locusts, which settled on trees, rooftops and plants, many residents of Gurugram shared videos from their high-rise perches.  

Swarms of locusts were seen in condominiums such as Beverly Park, Garden Estate and Heritage City as well as buildings in Sikanderpur in the high-rise town bordering Delhi.     

The Gurgaon District Administration on Friday had issued a locust warning for the district, advising residents to keep windows and doors locked and by make loud noises as a swarm was expected to enter the city on Saturday after it was sighted at an adjoining Haryana district.

In May, India battled a devastating desert locust outbreak. The crop-destroying swarms first attacked Rajasthan and then spread to Punjab, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.

With PTI inputs