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Twitter photos from Lucknow residents show skies turning dark after locust swarms invaded parts of the city

Swarms of locusts were descended in several areas in Lucknow and its neighbouring areas on Sunday.

Videos shot by locals showed skies over many parts of Uttar Pradesh, including Lucknow, turning dark as huge swarms of the crop-destroying insects descended into playing fields, markets, and residential areas.

The migratory pests were first spotted in the Ghantaghar area and were later seen flying in Daliganj, Nishatganj, Madiyaon and Vikas Nagar, according to reports.

Alarmed by the invasion, people were seen bursting crackers and beating drums to scare away the pests.

The locals managed to capture some videos and pictures of the crop-destroying insects. The swarm was so huge in some parts, it turned the skies dark.

Check it out:

Some residents managed to take close-up shots of the insects

On Saturday, swarms of locusts from Hardoi district entered Sitapur and caused crop destruction in several areas like Machhehata, Misrikh, Khairabad, Biswan, Mahmudabad, and Pisawan.

Arvind Mohan Mishra (Deputy Agricultural Director) said that a team was constantly surveying the damage caused by the locusts.

“We are motivating farmers to scare away locusts by clanging thali-tali and producing sound from vehicles so that farmers can save their crops from locust attack in time,” Arvind Mohan Mishra, Deputy Agricultural Director told ANI.

In order to prevent further damage, the agriculture department and the fire brigade had jointly sprayed pesticides in a night-long operation.

So far, locust attacks have been reported from Jhansi, Chitrakoot, Allahabad, Pratapgarh, Bhadohi, Azamgarh and Ambedkar Nagar in UP.

Locust control operations have been undertaken in 2,83929 hectares of area in 10 states from April 11 to July 9.

In order to control the menace, the centre has deployed a total of 60 locust control teams in UP, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

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