Alert in Telangana against likely invasion of locusts on June 25

HYDERABAD: With a new swarm of locust entering India from Pakistan, Telangana state is on high alert with practically war-like preparations being in place to destroy them.
If there were to be a locusts invasion in the state, the result could be devastating as the kharif sowing season has begun and the locust could cause immense damage. Twice in recent times, the locusts had come as far as Maharashtra and close to 200km from the border districts of Telangana.On both occasions because of the direction of wind, the swarms took a turn and went back into Maharashtra and Chattisgarh.
On Monday, Bhadradri Kothagudem district collector M V Reddy alerted the official machinery comprising of various departments about the likelihood of the swarm entering the district on June 25 and to be prepared to tackle it. An awareness meeting was conducted with farmers on how to tackle the swarm of locusts. Since there was a likelihood of the swarm of locusts choosing the area along with Godavari to enter the state, the official machinery has been asked to track its movement. In particular, Cherla, Dummaguda, Bhadrachalam, Burgampahad, Aswaraopet, Manuguru, Pinapaka, and Karkagudem mandals have been asked to be alert. The district has kept 2,000 litres of pesticide ready to take up spraying operations to kill the locusts if they manage to come as far as Bhadradri Kothagudem.
The collector has also asked the officials to have a ‘trial spraying’ on June 24 to demonstrate on how the spraying machinery should be used and to what extent. MV Reddy said caution has to be exercised in the spraying operation too as no harm should come to livestock, plants, and also humans.
According to information received from the locust warning office of the union agriculture ministry, a new swarm of locusts entered Rajasthan, Anupgarh twon of Sriganganagar district on June 21 from Pakistan. The size of the swarm is 5 km by 5 km and ‘very dense’. On June 20, four swarms entered Jaipur, Rajasthan from Nagaur in Pakistan. After control operations were taken up, the swarms moved towards Tonk district in Rajasthan itself.
Nine districts are on the alert in Telangana since May anticipating the locusts swarm to come into Telangana. On both the occasions, once in May and another time earlier this month, the damage could not have been much as there was no standing crop. But now, since the sowing has already begun, chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao recently constituted another committee, apart from the previous one, with chief secretary Somesh Kumar to oversee the operations against a possible locust swarm entering Telangana. The other districts on alert include Mancherial, Adilabad, Mulugu, Sangareddy, Kamareddy, Nizamabad, Nirmal and Komarambheem Asifabad.