Locusts keep authorities, Prayagraj locals on toes
PRAYAGRAJ: A swarm of locusts that made its way from Mirzapur district kept authorities and locals in Prayagraj on their toes for over 24 hours, starting Tuesday evening.
The swarm was first seen in various villages of Koraon development block, around 55 kilometres from the heart of the city, late on Tuesday evening, triggering an overnight anti-locust operation that continued till Wednesday evening as the swarm made its way to Meja and Karchana development blocks, both of them located on the outskirts of the city. Officials said the locusts could not cause extensive damage in terms of crop as paddy was yet to be sown but did attack crops of seasonal vegetables such as lady finger, gourds and brinjal.
According to officials, the swarm, around 3-kilometre wide wide and 1-km long, arrived in the district from the neighbouring Mirzapur before which it was seen at several villages of Singrauli and Sonbhardra districts on Monday and Tuesday respectively. The district administration and the agriculture department launched an operation to spray anti-locusts’ chemicals in the fields with the help of fire tenders, officials said.
Villagers also tried to chase away the swarm using utensils, drums and crackers.
“The size of the swarm grew as the time passed. Within a few hours, they were everywhere and I saw them at Lediari market,” said a local farmer, Ramdeen.
Locals then informed the authorities following which a team of officials launched an offensive against the locusts.
“We are trying our best to chase them away from the affected villages for which the fields are being sprayed with chemicals and DJs (sound systems) are being played in the open field. Locals are also beating tin cans,” said Akansha Rana, subdivisional magistrate (SDM), Karchana. Several villages on Prayagraj’s outskirts, including Dharwara, Madeni Singh-kaPura, Tala, Hathsara and Lohandi, have been raided by the locusts. “We pressed four fire tenders into service at the affected sites and with additional support from tractors of locals, anti-locust chemicals were sprayed. The exercise went on for five hours after which the locusts flew away,” said BDO Rama Shankar. A smaller swarm was also spotted in Jhunsi at Chatnag and Munsi-Ka-Pura village as well as in areas of Badra-Sonauti on Wednesday. Chief development officer, Prayagraj, Ashish Kumar said the administration was already on high alert against the locusts.