Locust swarms damage 1,600 hectares in Sriganganagar

Blurb: The farmers are also adopting traditional methods such as beating utensils and spreading smoke to tackle the attack

Our Correspondent

Abohar, January 15

After taking cognisance of reports pertaining to a major attack by locust swarms on 1,600 hectares of land in 41 villages, which are located close to the international border in Sriganganagar near here, the Rajasthan Government has ordered a special girdawari, which will begin from Thursday.

Revenue Minister Harish Chaudhary discussed the situation thoroughly through video conferencing on Tuesday with district collector Shivprasad Madan Nakate, sub-divisional magistrate Ummaid Singh Ratanu and officials of the Agriculture Department. He directed the administration to intensify relief work and conduct special girdawari. He said the report should be sent to the state headquarters at the earliest so that suitable compensation could be approved for affected farmers.

Nakate said revenue patwaris and inspectors of the Agriculture Department would start girdawari under the Rajasthan Land Revenue Rules 1967 on January 16 to assess the impact of the attack on rabi crop in Rawla, Gharsana, Raisinghnagar and Anoopgarh sub-divisions in the year gone by. The assessment would be completed within seven days. Insurance companies would also conduct a survey in their respective areas of responsibility. In addition, the administration had already deployed officials to explore all possible measures to deal with the attack.

The district collector said as many as 60 tractors had been deployed to spray Malathion and other organophosphate insecticides to eliminate the immature swarms. The farmers are also adopting traditional methods such as beating utensils and spreading smoke to tackle the attack.