New dense swarm of locusts enter Sriganganagar district of Rajasthan from Pakistan
Jaipur/IBNS: India is all set to battle a fresh wave of locust attack as a five square kilometer dense swarm of desert locusts entered Sriganganagar district of Rajasthan from Pakistan while locust breeding has been reported at Bikaner district, said a media report.
The latest invasion of locusts comes amid Rajasthan government's intensified efforts to eliminate the pests with 411 tractor-mounted power sprayers and 53,000 litres of plant protection chemicals, procured under a World Bank-funded project, a Hindustan Times report said.
The fresh swarm of locusts entered Rajasthan's Anupgarh town in Sriganganagar district on Sunday, officials of Locust Warning Office said, the report stated, adding that the officials confirmed that it is "5km-by-5km and very dense".
Rajasthan has issued a work order of 211 tractor-mounted power sprayer for locust management in Bikaner and Jalore districts, and 200 for Barmer and Jaisalmer for which Rs 1.56 crore has been provided by the World Bank under the Rajasthan Agricultural Competitiveness Project (RACP), the HT report said.
Pesticides worth Rs 1.3 crore have been ordered and will be sent directly to the deputy directors of the agriculture department of the respective districts of Barmer, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Bikaner, Nagaur, Jalore, Sriganganagar, Hanumangarh, Pali, Churu, Ajmer, Jaipur and Sirohi by June 30, the report informed.
Amid frequent outbreaks in the states of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, locust breeding has been reported from Bikaner district.
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