Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh) [India], May 29 (ANI): Locals in rural areas of Kanpur are beating utensils and drums in their agricultural fields as a precautionary measure to ward off locusts.
“The district administration has informed us about the locust attack. We are on alert so that crops are not damaged here,” a farmer said. Another farmer added, “We are beating drums and utensils to keep the locusts away. We are also using chemicals for the safety of our crops.”
In a bid to control the locust attack in the country, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar had on Thursday said that 15 sprayers will be procured from Britain in the next 15 days.
Tomar held a high-level meeting to review locust control operations in the country. The Centre is in close touch with affected States and an advisory has been issued.
Locust swarms from Pakistan have entered Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, and Madhya Pradesh threatening major damage to standing cotton crops and vegetables, said a spokesperson of Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
Rajasthan is the most affected state, the spokesperson informed.
The desert locust is a species of locust, a swarming short-horned grasshopper. They are known to devour everything in their path, posing an unprecedented threat to food supply and livelihoods of millions of people. (ANI)
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