Haryana on alert to tackle locust attack

Tractor-mounted sprayers are being activated and a response team has been constituted.

After locusts attacked crops in neighbouring Rajasthan, nine districts of Haryana have been put on high alert, a senior official said on Friday. But the swarms have not entered the State so far.

At a review meeting chaired by Chief Secretary Keshni Anand Arora, Additional Chief Secretary (Agriculture) Sanjeev Kaushal said that after the locust attacks in Punjab and Rajasthan, Haryana was put on high alert.

Special supervision teams have been constituted. Adequate stocks of pesticides have been made available through HAFED (the State’s apex cooperative federation) and the Haryana Land Reclamation and Development Corporation. If need be, farmers can get pesticides from these agencies, according to an official statement.

Farmers have been asked to remain vigilant. So far, the swarms have not entered the State, but precautions are being taken: tractor-mounted sprayers are being activated and a response team has been constituted, according to the statement.

Agriculture Department officials have been in touch with the Central Institute for Locust Warning, Jodhpur, to track the movement of the swarms.