Rumours about the locust swarm heading for Mumbai has been taking the rounds on WhatsApp, causing panic among the residents of Mumbai. However, the Locust Warning Organisation (LWO) that functions under the Union agriculture ministry denied the rumours and said that there is no swarm of locusts heading for Mumbai, reports Hindustan Times.
“The invasion is restricted to parts of eastern Maharashtra, with districts in Vidarbha affected. The wind direction from Madhya Pradesh is favourable for their movement within this area and food availability in these zones. No such warning has been given for the Konkan region, including Mumbai, as the wind direction will not allow their movement to the coastal city from Gujarat,” said KL Gurjar, deputy director, LWO.
On the other hand, entomologists suggested that locust swarms would avoid areas like Mumbai due to excess humidity as they prefer dry places.
“Since 1pm on Thursday, I have been getting messages, images and videos of some grasshopper species from several locations in Mumbai. Many seemed fake or photoshopped,” said Sunjoy Monga, ornithologist and naturalist. “On an ecological level, although not entirely impossible, it is highly unlikely for desert locusts to swarm humid zones.”
Dr Himmat Singh, an entomologist from Rajasthan studying locusts extensively, said, “People should not panic as locusts are not a threat to humans. Also, considering large green patches over Vidarbha, where it rained during March and April, makes for a suitable habitat for them to feed on fruit trees. This is not the case in Mumbai and considering the present wind direction, it is highly unlikely that a swarm could enter the city."
Rajan Naringrekar, insecticide officer of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) confirmed they had not received any alerts about locust attack in the city.
A spraying operation was also carried out across a radius of a kilometre between Wednesday night and Thursday morning by fire tenders at Temani village in Bhandara district.
“In the morning the locusts were found falling from trees and dying in large numbers. Tree species on which they rested were mango, teak, moha, anjan, jambhul, kinhi, ber etc, with mango trees affected the most. However, no damage has been recorded across paddy fields where harvesting is underway during early mornings,” said Ravindra Bhosale, divisional joint director agriculture.
“While thousands of locusts were killed, those that survived are moving towards Gondia district, which might be the state’s fifth district (after Amravati, Nagpur, Wardha, and Bhandara) to be affected. We are still monitoring their movement,” he added.
