Thursday, May 28, 2020
Swarms of locusts entered Uttar Pradesh's Jhansi district yesterday (27th May 2020) after damaging crops in Rajasthan and MP. It 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 Faridabad-based Locust Warning Organisation (LWO) told PTI.
According to the Union agriculture ministry, 21 districts in Rajasthan, 18 in Madhya Pradesh, two in Gujarat and one in Punjab have undertaken locust control measures till now.
Rajasthan on Wednesday deployed a drone to spray pesticide on locusts in Jaipur district's Samod area and the Union minister said it too is acquiring the machines.
The LWO official said there is a coordinated effort to contain the locust spread.
