Locusts from Pakistan arrive in Gujarat's Banaskantha district

Small clusters of the insects arrived in at least four villages of Suigam tehsil in the district close to the border with Pakistan, agriculture officer Pramod Patel said. "Locusts in small groups invaded some parts of Suigam, and we sprayed pesticides to control them.

Locusts flying in from Pakistan were spotted in parts of Gujarat's Banaskantha district, an official said on Thursday. Small clusters of the insects arrived in at least four villages of Suigam tehsil in the district close to the border with Pakistan, agriculture officer Pramod Patel said.

"Locusts in small groups invaded some parts of Suigam, and we sprayed pesticides to control them. They affected a 12 -hectare area. They have been brought under control now," he said. "They came from the Pakistan border, and some were diverted from Rapar and Bhachau tehsils of neighboring Kutch district," he added.

Late last year, swarms of locusts coming from Pakistan ravaged crops over 25,000 hectares in the districts of Banaskantha, Patan, Kutch, and Mehsana in Gujarat.