In country’s worst case of locust infestation in three decades, Palghar is now on high alert

Mumbai: While Vidarbha is fighting against a swarm of desert locusts, Maharashtra government has alerted Palghar district about the possibility of attack of these locusts. The state government is planning to use drones to spray pesticides on the locusts.

“These locusts travel as per the air flow. They may enter in Palghar district through North Maharashtra and Gujarat. Therefore we have alerted villages especially in Talasari and Dahanu tehsils on Gujarat border. We have asked villagers to be more vigilant in the night. Locusts are not easily noticed amongst green vegetables. They might land on crops in the evening and by morning, they can damage those crops,” Vikas Patil, Joint Director of Agriculture for Kokan region told FPJ.

“Officials of Agriculture department are visiting the villages and educating the villagers about these locusts. They have been requested to alert the state government whenever they find such locusts,” he added.

“State agriculture department is supplying free pesticides to farmers to fight against them. The state government is planning to spray pesticides through drones. The government has used hose pipes of fire brigades for spraying pesticides in Vidarbha.

The state government has allowed District Collectors to use 25 per cent of National Disaster Relief Fund for purchasing pesticides and for public awareness against these locusts,” said Dada Bhuse, Agriculture minister.

Swarms of crop eating locusts have spread across Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and eastern part of Maharashtra. The swarm had invaded farmlands and fruit orchards across Amravati, Wardha, Nagpur and Bhandara.

“Due to timely intervention from farmers and government, these locusts have not cost much damage to the crop,” the minister stated.

These insects have destroyed crops on thousands of hectares of farmland in the country’s worst locust crisis in three decades