Locust invasion in Fazilka repelled

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 3

A 3-km-long swarm of locusts invaded villages in Fazilka late last evening, devouring mustard crop and settling on sheesham and kikar trees lining a bundh. It took multiple government agencies and local villagers to fight the insects. Residents of Rupnagar and Bareka villages in Khuian Sarwar block of Fazilka, a stone’s throw away from the International Border, saw the swarm and alerted the district administration. The operation to spray insecticides started at 11 pm and continued till 10 am the morning.

The emergency response team of the Agriculture Department, led by Agriculture Director Sutantar Kumar Airi and GDA Gurwinder Singh, was rushed to the affected villages to oversee the operations. Hundreds of litres of insecticides were sprayed on the 450 affected trees through high-velocity sprayers mounted on tractors. Fire Brigades were commissioned from neighbouring districts. Airi said they had ensured that the swarm did not move on to other places. Though locusts had been spotted in Sivana, Muradwala, Chananwala, Khanpur and Nejeke villages of Fazilka, local officials claimed there was no need to panic.

After locusts struck neighbouring Rajasthan a few weeks back, the Punjab Government sounded high alert along villages bordering Rajasthan and Pakistan, which has already declared the attack a national emergency. “We sent a team of officials to Rajasthan last month and stationed them there to alert the government as and when the swarms moved towards the state. Rajasthan managed to control the attack, though 3.50 lakh acres of crop was destroyed,” Punjab Additional Chief Secretary Vishwajit Khanna said.

(Inputs from Ruchika M Khanna, Praful Chander Nagpal and Raj Sadosh)