New Delhi, June 27: A swarm of locusts which was seen in Rajasthan on Friday had divided itself into three groups and moved towards the national capital region, said the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare on Saturday. The statement came amid a swarm of locusts hitting the outskirts of Delhi. Locust Attack: Delhi Govt Issues Advisory as 'Tiddi Dal' Reaches NCR Outskirts, DMs Tasked to Ward Off Threat.

According to the Agriculture Ministry, a "tiddi dal" was spotted in Jhunjhunu region of Rajasthan a day earlier. When the officials sprayed insecticides and pesticides to neutralise the locusts, the leftover among them moved towards Haryana.

"Locust swarm was noticed in Jhunjhunu on 26th June morning and control teams were deployed to eliminate locusts.Leftover locusts reached Rewari (Haryana) yesterday evening where control operations were undertaken till early today morning," the Ministry statement said.

"Leftover locusts again regrouped  swarm divided into three groups, one of which moved towards Gurugram, and from there to Faridabad and onwards to Uttar Pradesh. Another locust swarm moved towards Dwarka in Delhi," it further added.

After the swarm of locusts was seen in border regions of South, West and East Delhi earlier today, a state of high alert was issued. An advisory was released by the Delhi government, asking residents to keep their doors and windows closed.

The District Magistrates were asked to take the lead in executing measures to ward off the threat. The DMs were directed to coordinate with the Fire Brigade Department and ensure spraying of pesticides and insecticides in all parts of the capital where the locusts settle.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 27, 2020 05:38 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).