Locust Attack: Jaipur authorities use fire engines to spray insecticides in Ramgarh area

The Jaipur authorities on Sunday used fire engines to spray insecticides to kill swarms of locusts at Ghati Ghanshyampur village in the Ramgarh area. Massive swarms of locusts have entered Rajasthan recently from adjoining areas of Pakistan. According to the state agriculture department, it is the "biggest attack in 27 years".

Notably, the first locust attack of this year was reported from Ganganagar, a district in north Rajasthan bordering Pakistan on May 11, and has now spread to Punjab, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh. The desert locusts are a species of locust, a swarming short-horned grasshopper, and are known to devour everything in their path, posing an unprecedented threat to the food supply and livelihoods of millions of people.  

Read: Locusts enter Chhattisgarh forest area from Madhya Pradesh

Centre steps up locust control measures

The Union Agriculture Ministry on Thursday said that 15 sprayers are being procured from the UK in a fortnight and plans are afoot to deploy drones and helicopters for the aerial spray of pesticides. Union Agricultural Minister Narendra Singh Tomar has said that control measures are in full swing and in close coordination with state agriculture departments, local administration, and Border Security Force (BSF). 

Read: UP's Agriculture department cautions 15 districts against possible threat of locust attack

India on High Alert over Locust Attack 

India has issued a high alert after the Locust Warning Organisation (LWO), under the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare, warned of another attack in May-June this year. The country's food security is at severe risk as a large swarm of locusts is entering India after breeding and maturing in Iranian provinces and Pakistan’s Balochistan province. The authorities have also started deploying drones, satellite-derived tools, special fire-tenders, and sprayers at pre-identified border locations.

Read: Varanasi: Locusts attack warning raised in parts of the district, authorities prepared

Read: DGCA issues advisory for domestic flights to tackle locust swarm threat