Locusts spotted in Bathinda dist

Bathinda, July 2

Locusts were spotted in four areas of Bathinda which has sent officials of the Agriculture Department into a tizzy even as they claimed that the number was too less to cause any harm the crops.

Farmers in districts bordering Haryana came out in the fields to safeguard their crops from a possible attack by locusts.

As per officials, locusts have been spotted at Leleana village in Talwandi Sabo, Kuttiwal Khurd in Maur and Ramniwas village in the Rampura block of the district.

A few locusts were spotted in a cotton field on the Ring Road near Lal Singh Basti on the outskirts of the city.

Officials said there was no need to panic as they were fully prepared to tackle locusts. A team of the Agriculture Department along with Chief Agricultural Officer Dr Bahadur Singh reached the affected fields and took stock of the situation. He said a swarm of 40-50 locusts did not pose any threat to crops.

Bahadur Singh said farmers had been provided 1,442 gun spray pumps while 32 spray machines were available with the Horticulture Department and 50 boom sprays with UPL Ltd. — TNS