Madhya Pradesh braces for fresh swarm of locusts

BHOPAL:As many as 36 districts of Madhya Pradesh have been ravaged by desert locusts, a pest that continues to wreak havoc on the state’s agriculture output despite concerted efforts by the agriculture department to control them.

With a huge swarm of locusts expected to enter the country through Jaisalmer district in Rajasthan from Wednesday, and soon spread to other states, the Madhya Pradesh government has asked all its districts to be on alert to tackle the menace.

Swarms of locusts had earlier entered the state through Neemuch in Malwa region and Sheopur in Gwalior-Chambal region around mid-May. A release issued by the state government on Wednesday said, “Two fire tenders sprayed about 80 litres of insecticide on a swarm of locusts spread over a 4km area in Simarhar village of Vidisha district on Tuesday.”

“All districts have been directed to be alert and be prepared with necessary resources to track the movement of locusts and control it,” the release said.

Locust warning office, a Union agriculture ministry wing, deputy director KL Gurjar said, “As on Wednesday, swarms of locusts were spotted in Panna, Damoh, Guna and a few other places in Madhya Pradesh. We are controlling the pests and they will be eliminated by the time the kharif crop season begins.”

Madhya Pradesh’s minister for agriculture and farmers’ welfare Kamal Patel said, “A sum of ₹51 lakh was sanctioned to 15 districts and ₹64 lakh to 21 other districts for locusts control. We are taking effective measures in controlling the pest. Those farmers whose vegetables or other crops have been damaged will be compensated as per the rules of the revenue department.”

The state government is yet to release any report on the extent of crop loss --mainly vegetables and lentils -- wrought by the pests belonging to the grasshopper family.

THE STATE GOVERNMENT IS YET TO RELEASE ANY REPORT ON THE EXTENT OF CROP LOSS.