Puri: Remember the 1978 American horror movie – ‘The Swarm’ where a scientist and a group of soldiers were trying to prevent a Texas-sized swarm of killer bees from invading the city. The story centres around cloud of winged death invading the city killing everything on their path and some people’s dying effort to stop this lethal menace.
A small village at Puri district in Odisha might become an ideal setting for another scientific horror film where for the last two months’ thousands of red poisonous ants are swarming into the village forcing the people either to leave their homes or live under an impending threat.
According to the district administration red ants coming mainly from the embankment of a nearby canal are swarming into the houses at Brahmansahi village under Chandradeipur panchayat in the Pipli block of Puri district. Several villagers have developed rashes and itching after being stung by these poisonous insects.
What is even more alarming is that, as these eusocial insects of the Formicidae family have started setting up colonies in the village houses and are multiplying in numbers every hour, many families are thinking of leaving the village unless the problem is addressed. According to the villagers – most of the villagers have started developing rashes and itching after being stung by the poisonous insects.
“They are aggressive and are entering the house, destroying food and other stuff and attacking people even without provocation. We are really in a helpless situation,” one of the villagers said.
“The ants are swimming across a nearby canal and entering the villages. All through day and night thousands are ants are seen swimming across the water and streaming into the village. It is even more surprising that they not having any effect of insecticide or pesticides and this is making the life even more miserable. We have asked the Block Development Officer (BDO) to take immediate steps,” a senior member of the Panachayat said.
In ‘The Swarm’ it was found that alarm system attracted the swarm into the base but here the district administration is clueless about the invasion of the ‘Red Deluge’ and don’t know how to control it.
