Haryana Agriculture Minister Jai Prakash Dalal on Saturday said the swarms of locusts have not caused much damage in the state so far, but asked farmers to remain alert.
“The locust swarms have not done much damage in Haryana, but the farmers still need to be careful,” the minister said after inaugurating a conference hall built in the Training Institute of Horticulture at Uchani in Karnal district.
An official statement quoting the minister said adequate arrangements have been made by the government to protect the farmers from any loss due to locust attack.
“It is after a period of 20 to 25 years that there has been an attack by the locust swarms which have come from other countries, but the Centre and state governments have taken effective steps to control this situation,” he said.
There is a warning of possibility of more attacks by swarms of locusts in the state. The Locust Warning Organisation has warned of more high-intensity attacks in the districts Nuh, Rewari, Mahendragarh, Bhiwani, Charkhi Dadri after July 22, as large-scale locust breeding was observed in district Jhunjhunu in Rajasthan.
Three weeks ago, a huge swarm of locusts had reached Rewari from neighbouring Rajasthan. While a part of the swarm settled overnight in the district, the remaining headed towards Gurgaon the next morning and eventually moved towards Uttar Pradesh.
Haryana had issued a high alert over a month ago after locust swarms attacked crops in Rajasthan and a few other states.
Locusts, locally known as ''tiddi dal'', are short-horned grasshoppers with highly migratory habits and voracious feeding behaviour.
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