Watch: Jail Inmates In UP Clang Utensils To Drive Away Locusts

Inmates clang utensils to scare away a swarm of locusts that entered Firozabad District Jail on Friday.

In a video of the incident, 10 to 11 convicts are seen trying to protect the crops sowed on land owned by the jail.

#WATCH A swarm of locusts entered Firozabad District Jail yesterday; inmates attempted to scare away the locusts by clanging utensils. pic.twitter.com/MRiBCQIblC

— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) July 10, 2020

Around 1,700 inmates are lodged in Firozabad Jail, which spans across 7 acres of land.

Jail Superintendent Akram Khan said that had inmates not started clanging utensils, the swarms of locusts would have damaged the vegetables and fruits crop. 

In the last week of June, swarms of locusts have invaded several districts of Uttar Pradesh, including Deoria, attacking trees and crops.

The UP Agriculture Department said reports of locust attacks were received from Jhansi, Chitrakoot, Allahabad, Pratapgarh, Bhadohi, Azamgarh and Ambedkar Nagar. He said authorities of the neighbouring districts - Hamirpur, Banda, Fatehpur, Kaushambi, Mirzapur, Sultanpur, Mau and Ballia - have been asked to remain alert.

Swarms of locusts that have crossed over to India from neighbouring Pakistan have been causing havoc in Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, and Madhya Pradesh ravaging standing crops for over a month now.

India is facing its worst locust attack in recent years. The desert locust is a species of locust, a swarming short-horned grasshopper, and poses an unprecedented threat to the food supply and livelihoods of millions of people.