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Locust swarms enter Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh; Government puts Punjab on high alert
The Locust menace has spread to Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra and the government has put Punjab at high risk as a prevention against the locust attacks.
After destroying crops in Jaipur and Madhya Pradesh, the swarms of locusts have entered Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra. The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare on Wednesday informed that locust control operations have been taken in affected states to minimize the damage done. The pests have not destroyed the Rabi crops which is the winter produce but the government is taking measures to save the Kharif crops that the locusts may impact.
The swarms of locusts have divided into two and reached Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh. In Maharashtra, they entered Katol and Parseoni in Nagpur district over the last four days and might move towards Ramtek city as predicted by the agriculture department. However, a senior official says that their exact route is difficult to track as the locusts keep changing their path. The swarms stretched up to 17 km in length when they entered Maharashtra.
The government has also put Punjab on high risk as the Agriculture department predicts the state to be next on target. Punjab Director Agriculture Sawtantar Kumar Airi stated that Punjab has set up control rooms in each district and the farmers have been asked to report if they find any incidences of locust attacks.
At present, 5 states Rajasthan, Punjab, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh are affected by the locust swarms. The ministry has informed that 89 fire brigades for pesticide spray, 120 survey vehicles, 47 control vehicles with spray equipment, and 810 tractor-mounted sprayers have been deployed for locust control. The Odisha government too is taking preventive measures in order to reduce the risk of locust attacks.
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