WORST ATTACK IN YEARS: LOCUSTS REACH JHANSI, DAMAGE CROPS IN NAGPUR
Punjab too put on alert
NEW DELHI/JHANSI/NAGPUR: After damaging crops in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, swarms of locusts entered Uttar Pradesh's Jhansi district Wednesday and could head towards Maharashtra's Ramtek city amid what is being described as the worst attack in 26 years.
Punjab, usually unaffected by the menace, is also gearing up for the possibility of a locust attack.
"It is not a new problem and we had been facing it for a
long time. This year, the locusts attack is the worst in 26 years, an official at the Faridabadbased Locust Warning Organisation (LWO) said.
The official said there is a coordinated effort to contain the locust spread. Earlier,
locusts have been confined to Rajasthan and Gujarat.
Since the insects are not finding enough food to survive, they are moving to other areas with the help of strong winds, he said.
According to the Indian Council of Agricultural Research Director General Trilochan Mohapatra, the insects have attacked about 40,000 hectares of land.
But there is no impact on rabi crops like wheat, pulses and oilseeds as most of them are harvested by now.
"The focus now is to stop the outbreak prior to arrival of monsoon rainfall in June-july when locusts will mature and breed. If the infestation is not controlled, it will pose a threat to kharif crops," he said.
A swarm reached Jhansi district on Wednesday, an Uttar Pradesh official said. Other districts in the region are also on alert.
Locusts struck the same district last week as well, but authorities said they eliminated half of that swarm with the help of local people.
The latest swarm was spotted in neighbouring Madhya Pradesh's Datia district.
Anticipating its arrival, Jhansi administration had already deployed fire brigade vehicles loaded with pesticide and taken other measures.
The locusts reached Skill village in Garautha tehsil around 4.30 pm, Jhansi division's Deputy Director Agriculture Kamal Katiyar said.
The swarm is spread over an area of about one square kilometre.