After a drought in communication I received a snippet of information yesterday. Good news for most of Zanskar's farmers! There are reports that the locust infestation in Zanskar is nowhere near as severe as last year. Many farmers are expecting to have a good harvest having benefited from favourable conditions this summer. The only village where the harvest is expected to be poor is Kumi, which in recent years has also suffered from unreliable irrigation water. It is not clear whether Kumi's expected poor crop is due to locust or poor water. Many Zanskaris are attributing the decline of the locust to the pujas carried out last year by monasteries and prominent religious figures.