Centre told states to prepare itself for possible successive Locust Attack in July and August

Centre has asked states to use Disaster Relief Funds to contain Locust

BY Vijay Thakur, Special Representative, The Statesman, vijaythakurx@gmail.com

In view of the warning from the United Nations which said India is likely to face several successive waves of Locust invasions until July in Rajasthan, Which would subsequently move to other states, Centre has put all states on alert and told them to use 25 % of State Disaster Response Fund to tackle the expected Locust attack in the fiscal year 2020-21.

In its advisory, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations has warned that the locust swarm would actually start hitting India in July when the locust would start breeding in the desert areas along with Indo-Pak areas and then invade neighbouring states of Rajasthan and Gujarat.

The second-generation locust swarm would move eastward across northern India and may go as far as Bihar and Orissa followed by westward movements and a return to Rajasthan on the changing winds associated with the monsoon, the United Nations told Indian. 

The FAO, however, maintained that these movements would cease once swarms begin to breed and were less likely to reach South India, Nepal, and Bangladesh.

Presently the locust swarms are moving from the spring breeding areas of South West Baluchistan to summer breeding areas along with the Indo-Pakistan desert areas mainly from the Cholistan to Tharparkar.

“The ongoing swarm attack in the neighbouring states of Rajasthan and Gujarat was because of strong westerly winds from cyclone Amphan in the Bay of Bengal. The strong winds brought Spring-bred immature adult groups and swarms, which otherwise could have been limited to Indo-Pak desert belt,” said a senior officer of the Agriculture Ministry said.

Centre has written to all Chief Secretaries and instructed them to prepare for the Locust attack, hire water tankers, vehicles and tractors with spray equipment for spraying of plant protection chemical for pest control, purchase plant protection chemicals for locust control.

It told them that the total expenditure incurred on these items should not exceed 25 % of SDRF allocation of the year. Centre further instructed states to streamline the inter-state movement facility for personnel engaged in the locust control works.

Union Agriculture Secretary Sanjay Agarwal has also convened a video conference with all states and Union Territories and informed about the latest status and control of locust attack, and possible attacks until July.

The Desert Locust situation continues to be extremely serious in Ethopia, Somalia, Kenya and part of Sudan, Yamen, Oman, Saudi Arabia, parts of Iran and Pakistan. Though Locust attack is very common in Africa and Middle East countries and part of Pakistan, this year experts are expecting massive breeding in Indo-Pak desert areas. “Coming two months are going to be very crucial and the problem has to be controlled before main Khariff crop sowing begins,” the officer said. (THE STORY APPEARED IN THE STATESMAN ON MAY 30).

Ends.