The swarms that have hit various states in the country, including the likes of Rajasthan, have now traversed into the northern territory of the country, as this virtual army of destruction, was mottled in the city of Delhi, as it passed through the city without much damage. But, now, the main challenge is for the authorities in Uttar Pradesh, as these swarms might bring in economic destruction to the agrarian sector of the state, especially the sugarcane industry, which, with a worth of almost of more than tens and thousands of crores, happens to be a major money-making industry in UP.
Uttar Pradesh is the leading producer of Sugarcane in India along with Maharashtra. Due, the nature of these crops and their vulnerability to a phenomenon of this kind, these little, but, ominous creatures, could put an economic dent of nearly 40000 crores to the economic vehicle of the state, which has already been hit by various other issues, under the pandemic.
The Swarms, spanning across 3-5 sq km, as a matter of fact, have already managed to wreak havoc in farmlands near Gurugram on Saturday. Various districts in UP, including districts of western Up and Bundelkhand region, have been marred by this, in the last 48 hours. This has forced authorities to swing into action, as, Several districts including that of Agra, Kasganj, Azamgarh, Chikraboot, and Jhansi have been placed under high alert.
the authorities are primarily concerned about the damaged these swarms might cause to the Kharif crops, that are sown and cultivated in monsoon, and also because the majority of crops in India are Kharif crops.
In an interview to the online portal ThePrint, K.L. Gurjar, deputy director at Locust Warning Organisation (LWO) said that Due to wind direction from west to South-east direction, the locust swarms crossed over to UP and MP from Haryana instead of entering Delhi.
This also important, as these crop-eating creatures will diversify, if not contained in the right time. causing a further threat to other areas in the country
