Locusts fly into Chhattisgarh from M.P.

Locusts fly into Chhattisgarh from M.P.

Minimal damage done to crop so far by the swarms as alert is maintained, say government officials

02/06/2020, SIDHARTH YADAV,BHOPAL

Note of caution: Locust swarms can be killed by pesticides but some move away to nearby districts. PTI

Swarms of desert locusts flew into two villages of Korea district of Chhattisgarh from neighbouring Madhya Pradesh but caused minimal damage, State government officials said on Monday.

“The swarms descended on three villages on Saturday night, but one of them flew away from a village the next morning,” District Collector Satyanarayan Rathore said.

On Sunday, a swarm remained between Punji and Jwaratola villages of Bharatpur block of the district. “We sprayed pesticide, which killed most of them. All panchayats are on alert and fire tenders have been put on standby,” he added.

A further advance inside Chhattisgarh depended on Madhya Pradesh’s handling of swarms and the wind direction, Maninder Kaur Dwivedi, Principal Secretary of the Chhattisgarh Agriculture Department, told The Hindu.

No standing crops

“If they don’t manage to kill them all, they are likely to come here. There is a nationwide alert already. As there are no standing crops at the moment, there was no damage in Korea,” Ms. Dwivedi added.

On May 29, State Director of Agriculture Taman Singh Sonwani alerted district officials to possible invasions and asked them to tour villages to apprise villagers of it.

Mr. Singh had informed agriculture officials that swarms could invade Chhattisgarh from neighbouring Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.

He directed officials to spread awareness among farmers and teach them natural remedies, traditional alternatives and chemical methods to prevent any crop damage.