Swarms of locusts enter residential areas in western India

NEW DELHI: Swarms of locusts were seen in various residential areas in Jaipur, the capital city of India's western state of Rajasthan on Monday.

Speaking to Xinhua over phone, Ashish Sharma, a resident of Jawahar Nagar area of Jaipur, said people tried to shoo away the insects using sounds by beating utensils, but to no avail.

"The locusts were seen mainly in the residential areas of Civil Lines, Raja Park, Jawahar Nagar," he said. "They fly in the wind's direction. By Monday evening they had flown towards the neighboring district of Dausa."

Locust control teams conducted operations by spraying pesticide in Jaipur on Sunday night. The locust warning organization in Jodhpur and the state agriculture department were working in coordination to handle the menace, said media reports quoting local officials.

In a bid to fight the menace, permissions have been given to spray anti-locusts pesticides with the use of drones and planes. This is the first time in the country when drones and planes would be used to spray anti-locusts pesticides.

The locust menace has spread to as many as 18 districts of Rajasthan, as the insects travel rapidly in search of food.

Locusts are fast emerging as a major problem in the region, with countries like India, Pakistan and Iran facing it every year mainly during the harvesting season.

India reached out to Pakistan last week for jointly fighting the menace.

"India has suggested to Pakistan that both countries coordinate locust control operations along the border, and that India can facilitate supply of Malathion, a pesticide, to Pakistan," media reports quoted a government official as saying.