NEW DELHI: India is battling the worst desert locust outbreak in recent times. The crop-destroying swarms first attacked Rajasthan and have now spread to Punjab, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. According to experts, broadly four species of locusts are found in India – desert locust, migratory locust, Bombay locust and tree locust. The desert locust is considered the most destructive.
It multiplies very rapidly and is capable of covering 150 kilometers in a day.
Here is how the states are making efforts to tackle locust attack:
Jhansi and Sonbhadra in UP
Overnight operations were carried out by the authorities to clear swarms of locusts in Moth and Garautha areas of Jhansi, and in Sonbhadra district, officials said on Thursday.
In Jhansi, a large number of locusts was eliminated with spraying of chemicals all through the night but a smaller number of those who survived has moved towards Pariksha near Jhansi on Thursday morning, deputy director, agriculture, Kamal Katiyar, said.
In Sonbhadra, a swarm of locusts reached Bemauri village in Ghorawal tehsil on Wednesday night where a team of the Agriculture Department sprayed chemicals till late night, killing a large number of insects.
Their further movement will depend on the direction of the wind, he said.
Taking cognisance of the matter, chief minister Yogi Adityanath had on Wednesday issued directions to district magistrates of Jhansi, Lalitpur, Agra, Mathura, Shamli, Muzaffarnagar, Baghpat, Mahoba, Banda, Chitrakoot, Jalaun, Etawah and Kanpur Dehat.
Delhi
The Delhi government has asked authorities concerned to spray insecticides and pesticides on standing crops, vegetation, gardens and orchards to prevent a probable attack of