No sure-fire remedy

Sushil Manav

Bhagwana Ram, a farmer from Karamsana village of Sirsa, keeps enquiring about the location of locusts in nearby Rajasthan ever since 1,000 to 2,000 insects that strayed away from a swarm active in Hanumangarh district entered his village in the last week of May.

Many like him having their fields in villages along Haryana’s border with Rajasthan are living in panic ever since desert locust swarms entering the country from Pakistan wreaked havoc in Rajasthan and also caused damage to vegetation in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and other states.

Seven districts of Haryana — Sirsa, Fatehabad, Hisar, Bhiwani, Charkhi Dadri, Mahendragarh and Rewari — are on high alert ever since locust swarms started entering Rajasthan in February this year.

Sources say swarms spread over at least 1 sq km are active in parts of Rajasthan close to Haryana’s border.

Gurjeet Singh Mann, a progressive farmer from Kirpal Patti village of Sirsa, says that though rabi crops have already been harvested and kharif crops like paddy and maize are yet to be sown, the districts concerned comprise part of the cotton belt of the state and the crop is already more than 45 days old.

“Cotton is grown on nearly 6 lakh hectares in Haryana, of which one-third is in Sirsa district. The crop is also grown in Fatehabad, Hisar, Bhiwani, Charkhi Dadri and other districts along the Rajasthan border. Besides, there are kinnow and guava orchards in Dabwali (Sirsa). If a locust swarm enters the area, it will cause huge losses to the farmers,” Mann adds.

Om Jhorar, a farmer of Karamsana village, says that besides cotton, gwar crop is being grown and they would be hit hard if the swarms enter their fields.

Experts say there is no foolproof measure to control locusts or shoo them away as community participation is not as high as it used to be three-four decades ago.

“All that farmers can usually resort to is to make loud noise by banging utensils or empty canisters. Chemical control cannot be applied quickly in a very large area,” say experts.

Sanjeev Kaushal, Additional Chief Secretary, Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Department, Haryana, says the state government has put in place a plan for monitoring and controlling the locust attack by involving DCs and department officials of seven districts considered vulnerable.

“Ever since locust attacks were witnessed in Rajasthan and parts of Punjab earlier this year, the department has held training and awareness camps in the seven districts close to Rajasthan. The situation is being monitored in coordination with the Central government and agriculture officers from Rajasthan and Punjab,” Kaushal adds.

The department has also sought the support of scientists of Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar. It has roped in semi-government agencies like HAFED, Haryana Seed Development Corporation, Haryana Agro Industries Corporation and Haryana Land Reclaim and Development Corporation to arrange stocks of pesticide chloropyriphose for the control of locust on a consignment basis so that it could be provided to farmers on 50 per cent subsidy. The department has constituted a response team at the headquarters, led by the Director General. Surinder Dahiya, an additional director of the department, is the coordinator of the team.

Voracious appetite

• Locusts are short-horned grasshoppers, known for their migratory behaviour and a voracious appetite.
• India has not witnessed any full-blown locust cycle after 1962.
• However, during 1978 and 1993, large-scale upsurges were observed.
• Localised locust breeding was reported and controlled during 1998, 2002, 2005, 2007 and 2010.