Locusts wreak havoc in fields in Koraon, Meja

Prayagraj: Swarms of locusts attacked various villages in Koraon and Meja, destroying crops in some fields.
The locusts started swarming the villages since Tuesday night and are moving westward. The locusts were wreaking havoc in villages of Karchana block when this story went to press.
According to sources, the swarm is around 3km wide and one-kilometre long.The locusts arrived in Prayagraj from Mirzapur district, before which they were spotted in several villages of Singrauli and Sonbhardra districts between Monday and Tuesday.
Following the attack, the district administration has swung into action.
Chemicals are being sprayed across fields with the help of fire tenders is affected villages to drive the locusts away. Besides, villagers rushed to their fields with different utensils and drums and crackers to chase the insects away. As per reports, villages in Kalyanpur and Sahajnipur areas of Koraon saw swarms of locusts on Tuesday evening. “The size of the swarm grew as time passed. Within a few hours, they were everywhere and I saw them in Ledirai market,” said a local farmer Ramdeen.
Spotting the insects, local residents then informed officials.
“We are trying our best to chase away the locusts for which fields are being sprayed with chemicals and loud music is being played in open fields,” said SDM (Karchana) Akansha Rana. Several villages like Dharwara, Madeni Singh kaa Pura, Tala, Hathsara and Lohandi have been affected be these insects.
“We pressed three fire tenders into service and have roped in additional vehicles, courtesy local residents, to spray chemicals in fields. The exercise went on for about five hours after which the locusts flew away,” said block development officer (BDO) of the area Rama Shankar.
“A smaller swarm was also spotted in Jhunsi at Chhatnag and Munsi Ka Pura village, as well as in areas of Badra-Sonauti. However, after some time the swarm proceeded towards Kachari village before disappearing westwards. We believe that the swarm entered Prayagraj from bordering villages of Madhya Pradesh,” he added.
Chief development officer (Prayagraj) Ashish Kumar said, “District officials, village heads and block-level teams had been trained and briefed about what they had to do in case of a probable attack by locusts. As no major crops have yet been planted, no major damage is feared barring few a patches of vegetables. We are keeping a watch on the situation and have a buffer stock of chemicals. All neighbouring districts have also been alerted,” he added.