The video was tweeted by a senior UP cop.
While 10 Uttar Pradesh districts remain on alert after clouds of locusts were spotted in Mahoba and Jhansi, a video shared by a senior police officer shows the different strategies farmers have adopted to protect their fields from locusts with short horns.
Locusts entered the state after attacking crops in neighboring regions of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, officials said.
In the nearly 30-second clip released by a UP police officer based in Jhansi, Rahul Shrivastava, a vehicle equipped with speakers – known locally as a “ DJ vehicle ” used for music in wedding processions – can be seen as loud music played through the speakers
“DJs (disc jockeys) are not only for singing and dancing … they are also effective in frightening armies of locusts. Everyone sees a new morning … You can also knock utensils or make noise to scare them, “tweet posted in Hindi reads.
Locusts entered Rajasthan from Pakistan earlier this month and then drifted to other parts of western India. Locusts are often spotted in the country, but on a very small scale, an official from the Union’s environment ministry told PTI
“This attack is huge. It is a unique situation over a decade and it is very badly synchronized for us because we are already dealing with a coronavirus,” Soumitra Dasgupta, general inspector of wildlife, told PTI.
डीजे सिर्फ़ नाच गाने के लिये ही नहीं बल्कि टिड्डी दल भगाने में भी कारगर होता है।
दिन सबके बदलते हैं!
आप मुँह से आवाज़ निकाल सकते हैं या थाली भी पीट सकते हैं।#Disc jockey#Locustswarm#locustswarms#Locusts#Locustsattack#LocustInvasion#LocustSwarmsAttackpic.twitter.com/zUcpYiJTGb
– RAHUL SRIVASTAV (@upcoprahul) May 27, 2020
“Local officials have been put on alert and asked to stay prepared with chemicals in tractor-mounted sprayers, electric sprayers and firefighters,” said a government spokesman for Uttar Pradesh.
In Jhansi, locusts have been spotted in the past two days and farmers have said they should alert a control room whenever they see a swarm.
In Mahoba district, partial damage has been reported to vegetables on 25 hectares and a detailed assessment of the loss is underway, said the spokesman.
In Rajasthan, pesticides were sprayed on locust swarms at two locations in Dausa district on Monday evening.
On Tuesday, some swarms moved to Karauli and other surrounding areas, said Rajasthan’s agriculture commissioner Om Prakash.
He said that Jaipur and Dausa had now been rid of the locusts.
Locust activity in Karauli in Rajasthan has triggered an alert in Jhansi, Lalitpur, Jalaun and Auraiya in the UP as well as in adjacent districts like Hamirpur, Kannauj, Etawah and Kanpur Dehat.
UP Deputy Director of Agriculture Kamal Katiyar said a team from Kota, Rajasthan is helping to control locusts.
Farmers said to contact the control room because information sharing is important, said Jhansi district magistrate Andra Vamsi.
“This is an emergency, and we must remain vigilant. This swarm has traveled through Iran, Pakistan, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. Two days ago, a large number of locusts were killed as a result of spraying chemicals, “he said.
In some places in the UP, farmers have been advised to beat “thalis” to hunt these insects.
In Mr. Vamsi’s district, the authorities installed public address systems in fields where crops could be attacked.
“Farmers have been asked to play loud music to hunt insects and save crops like moong and vegetables,” said the official.
Locusts do not attack animals or humans, but can devastate crops and other green areas.
Vamsi said a team of seven members of the Center were on tour in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh to resolve the problem.
