Lucknow: Additional Chief Secretary, Sugar Industries & Cane Development Shri Sanjay R. Bhoosreddy said that, as per instructions of Government, to save the sugarcane crop from locust outbreak, rescue measures have been taken in all the districts & divisions of the state by the Cane Department along with the help of district administration and Sugar Mills. In 1,256 hectare area in different districts locust outbreak has been controlled by spraying insecticides. All the officers and employees have been told to visit the villages continuously and to make the farmers aware and take adequate precautions to thwart the possible attack of the locust. Instructions have been given to Spray insecticide with spray tankers, distribute pamphlets, handbills and publish pest prevention measures in daily newspapers, write pest prevention measures on the walls of all offices and warehouses and to bring awareness in all farmers.
Shri Bhoosreddy also told Since locusts pest attack in large numbers at a time and eats the crop in a very short time, so it is very difficult to save the crop after its invasion, in such a situation, it can be prevented by preparing in advance. So in that condition by adopting the principle of “Prevention is better than cure”, necessary protective measures are being taken by Cane Development Department in time to protect the sugarcane crop and all the departmental officers are vigilant for this.
Giving information on the measures taken by the department, the Additional Chief Secretary, said that in all the Cane intensive regions and districts of the State, proper arrangements of insecticides and spray tankers have been made to control the locust’s outbreak. Although the locusts have not yet arrived in the districts of Saharanpur and Moradabad regions, but still all arrangements have been made in view of possible arrivals. As locusts arrived in the Meerut division, 196 teams were deployed to control them. Pamphlets have also been distributed in these regions of western Uttar Pradesh for bringing awareness among the farmers.
He said that in Bareilly region, with the joint efforts of Agriculture, Sugarcane, District Administration and Fire Department Chloropyriphos sprayed in 150 hectare, by 8 teams and 3 Spray Tankers for the control of locust and farmers did not let the locusts descend into the fields, by making noise. Locusts migrated to Farrukhabad, Hardoi and Sitapur districts of Lucknow regions, were killed by spraying insecticides in 291 hectare area selected as migration sites through 29 teams and 45 spray tankers. Similarly, on the arrival of locust in Sultanpur, Jaunpur, Ghazipur, Varanasi and Ambedkar Nagar of Ayodhya division, insecticides were sprayed in 153 hectare area through 30 teams and 5 spray tankers with the help of Agriculture Department. Large quantities of pamphlets were also distributed in these regions for awareness among sugarcane farmers.
It was also informed that insecticides were sprayed on 372 hectare area through 4 spray tankers by making 4 teams in Devipatan region. Similarly, in Gorakhpur, Basti, Maharajganj and Siddharthnagar districts of Gorakhpur region, efforts were made by the farmers to avoid locust’s outbreak by making noise and by spraying insecticides in coordination with the district administration and agriculture department. In Deoria region, 39 teams were formed and 289 hectare area was sprayed by 26 spray tankers.
In this way, the locust outbreak is controlled by the sugarcane department in coordination with the district administration and agriculture department and killed by spraying insecticide or driven away by making noise and using other conventional methods during migration. The Cane department is currently in 24X7 alert mode for locust prevention, and all the officers of the department are vigilant for this. So far no damage has been reported by locusts in sugarcane crop.
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