Telangana: CM KCR reviews measures being taken up to control locust

Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Thursday reviewed the measures being taken up by the officials to control locust in Telangana. Scientists, experts and higher officials were present in the review meeting.

As locust reach in Amravati in Maharashtra, the Central Integrated Pest Management Centres (CIPMC) and Amravati district agriculture officers alerted the Telangana agriculture department and director of research at professor Jayashankar Telangana State Agriculture University (PJTSAU) about the possibility of locusts entering Telangana.

The locusts may enter Telangana in two or three days if the Maharashtra government fails to control them. With a speed of 16 kilometre per hour, the locusts are believed to be flying in the direction of the wind and damaging the crops in midway. B Janardhan Reddy, commissioner of agriculture department has issued an alert to the farmers in the Nizamabad, Kamareddy, Asifabad, Mancherial, Jayashankar-Bhupalapally districts. They were asked to inform the officials if they witness swarms of locusts.

The officials said that a swarm of locusts in a day would damage the food that 35,000 people eat for a meal.

Crops like mango, guava, vegetables and bananas will be damaged if the swarms of locusts reach the state. Mohan Reddy, Deputy Director Agriculture (DDA) of Plant Protection has directed the officials to be vigilant about the locusts and to keep ready all the insecticides and chemicals to be sprayed.