Locust control on 1.6L hectares in border areas done: Official
BREEDING SEASON After locust incursion from Pakistan at the state border this week, officials of two countries meet to discuss situation; alert issued in Raj, Haryana and Gujarat
JODHPUR: A senior officer of the Locust Warning Organisation (LWO) under the Union agricult ure ministry said t hat t he Scheduled Desert Area, which spans across Rajasthan, Gujarat and Haryana, is a summer breeding ground for locusts. The breeding season of locusts spans from June-july to October-november every year.
The locust swarms normally travel with the wind and enter the Scheduled Desert Area of India through Pakistan, he added.
To monitor locust incursion, a joint meeting between officials of India and Pakistan are held every month during locust season. There are six meetings in a year.
A joint border meeting was held on Thursday at Khokhrapar (Pakistan) border. The two countries shared locust infestation information and control measures taken by them, and agreed to continue their control operations in their territories, LWO officials who attended the meeting said.
Keith Cressman, a senior locust forecasting officer at the Food and Agriculture Organizat i o n ( F AO) o f t h e Un i t e d Nations, Rome, was also present i n t he meeting f or t he f i rst time.
In the meeting, the director and plant protection adviser of Pakistan, Falaq Naaz said that till Thursday, locust adults and hoppers have been controlled in a total area of 56,740 hectares.
Locusts are moving towards the summer breeding areas bordering India and Pakistan due to the change of seasons.
Currently, locust control is in progress in Cholistan, Nara, Sakar, Tharparkar and Khipro areas of Sindh and Punjab states of Pakistan, Naaz said.
The Indian delegation leader, Rajesh Malik, plant protection officer at the directorate of plant protection, quarantine and storage under the Union agriculture ministry said locust adults and hoppers control has been done on 160,495 hectares in the border areas of Rajasthan, including 12,650 hectares in Barmer district, 96,802 hectares in Jaisalmer district, 6,790 hectares in Jodhpur and 39,685 hectares in Bikaner district.
Locust Warning Organisation (LWO) deputy director KL Gurjar said that an alert has been issued by the government in all the districts adjacent to the Pakistan border in Rajasthan, Gujarat and Haryana and regular surveys are being conducted to tackle locust incursion.
“There is a continued incursion of desert locusts since May 21 onwards, from the border areas of Pakistan, mainly in the Jaisalmer district,” Gurjar added.
Gurjar said that its presence has also been reported in the Barmer, Jalore, Jodhpur and Bikaner districts and Banaskantha district of Gujarat. “The staffs of locust warning organization are undertaking regular surveys and control operations t o check desert l ocust,” he added.