HYDERABAD: Telangana has geared up seven districts that share border with Maharashtra with all the ammunition required to fight swarms of locusts, in case the winged pests enter from the neighbouring State. However, speaking to meteorologists from the private weather forecasting agency Skymet and the India Meteorological Department revealed that Telangana might not have much cause of worry.
Locusts are known to follow the trajectory of winds. Mahesh Palawat, Chief Meteorologist of Skymet, said that the winds presently blowing from the northwest are limited only till Vidarbha, helping the locusts reach till there and for the next two days, these winds are expected to have an impact maximum up to east Madhya Pradesh.
He said that in these two days there is only marginal chance of winds reaching the northern tip of Telangana like Adilabad or Asifabad and as a result the chances of the pest entering the State are scarce. After two days, southwest winds are expected to blow, further repelling the insects away from Telangana. When contacted, an official of Locust Warning Organisation, a Central government body, said that there is as of now no threat of the locust to Telangana.
Telangana Agriculture Principal Secretary, B Janardhan Reddy said, “Presently it (locust swarms) is in Maharashtra, between Amravathi and Nagpur. Its direction and trajectory are not yet established. If Maharshtra is unable to control, it will further go ahead. The definite prediction is Chhattisgarh but whether it will pass through the border districts like Adilabad and Mancherial or over them or via Nagpur, it is not yet known. We are in touch with the Maharashtra authorities.
District officials on high alert
However, the State is leaving no stone unturned. “We have informed the Collectors to be prepared. Insecticides are available and kept ready. They will be taking the help of Fire Department. As there is not enough standing crops in the field apart from some horticulture crops, the locusts will sit on trees. The Fire Department personnel will spray water mixed with insecticides in the right proportion,” Reddy said. District Collectors of Kamareddy, Nizamabad, Nirmal, Adilabad, Asifabad, Mancherial and Bhupalpally have issued directions to agriculture and other departments to be prepared as the issue of locusts is being handled by the Disaster Management Department.
Mancherial District Agriculture Officer, Vinod Kumar, said, “We have kept insecticides used to kill the locusts ready in enough quantities along with Taiwan sprayers and have also spoken with the Fire Department to keep the engines ready. The insecticides like monocrotophos or chlorpyrifos can be sprayed on the locusts. They will be sprayed on the locusts swarms if they come and also after they leave, on open grounds.”
What are locusts